


It's Raining Blood

by Hades_queen_13



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demons, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Demons, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Not sure if this is underage but technically they're teenagers so I tagged it, Swords & Sorcery, Telepathic Bond, Telepathy, powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-24
Updated: 2016-02-24
Packaged: 2018-05-22 22:35:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 23
Words: 81,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6096175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hades_queen_13/pseuds/Hades_queen_13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Let Nico just make one thing clear about himself.<br/>This whole being a demonic creature of Hell thing? It wasn't his choice. He didn't ask to be like this, feared by even his own kind because of what he is, what he can do. He's a ticking time bomb and everyone around him knows it. Only a matter of time before he blows, taking everything with him. So he's decided that if he's going to die, the leat he can do is minimize the casualties. He decided to stay alone for however long it took for his clock to run out.<br/>He planned it all. Every detail.</p>
<p>What he hadn't planned for, was being sent to a school for demons, where he could better himself. And he definitely hadn't planned on meeting a water nymph with a mean right hook.</p>
<p>Nico's had his whole life laid out for him, and his time is getting shorter with every breath he takes. If he's going to go out, he's going out with a smile after a good life.<br/>Because what the hell, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue (Part One)

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this is a new idea that I had for a demon AU. Honestly, this thought has been in my head for a while and I really wanted to get it down.
> 
> Now let's talk about chapters. I wrote a prologue that slowly turned into an extensively long chapter that woukd be way too long to still be considered an actual prologue. So instead of having the prologue in one part, I plan on putting it into seperate parts that will probably be posted a section a day. Just wanted to let you know so you weren't confused.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is a well known fact that humans don't take well to new things. They're brash and instinctive creatures, quick to anger and even quicker to draw blood. So when humanity found out about the existence of demons, of course they chose the most violent plan of action. The powers that the demons had, scared humans. They'd never seen anything like it, and therefore, it was seen as a threat. 
> 
> They couldn't have imagined how right they were.

It is a well known fact that humans don't take well to new things. They're brash and instinctive creatures, quick to anger and even quicker to draw blood. So when humanity found out about the existence of demons, of course they chose the most violent plan of action. The powers that the demons had, scared humans. They'd never seen anything like it, and therefore, it was seen as a threat.   
  
They couldn't have imagined how right they were.  
  
When the first demon was killed by the hands of a human, the entire race of demons rose, showing their colors as a bloody, horrifying species. A war was quickly dawned onto both sides, taking hundreds of demons and even more humans, everyday. But while human numbers dwindled, the demons only grew stronger. Every drop of blood on the battlefield would mean power for the demons, which meant more death for more and more humans, until eventually, a line was drawn. A meeting took place, between a group of powerful individuals of both species. A treaty was signed, and the war ended. But the agreement had its price. While the treaty kept peace, it was an uncertain peace, uneasy and ever so fragile. And so it was decreed that humans and demons would have no interaction at all. Humans would resume the lives they had before the war, and the demons would do the same. Any human or demon found on the territory of the other species, would be killed on sight.  
  
Both sides respected this rule, and for two hundred years, not a single drop of blood was spilled.  
  
Not until the birth of young Maria di Angelo.  
  
Maria was born to a human diplomat and his wife, with warm brown eyes and enough curiosity to get her into more than enough trouble. She disregarded danger repeatedly, making fun in places that most children wouldn't dare venture. While most kids were scared to death of snakes, Maria befriended three of them. Most girls her age hated dirt and bugs. But you could almost be sure that when Maria came in from an adventure outside, she'd be covered in dirt and grime with a few insects in between the folds of her dress. (Her mother often said that the saying about curiosity killing the cat, was made just for her.)   
  
Most girls were content to sit around in poofy dresses and learn to be the perfect princess. But Maria herself wanted no such thing. She wasn't keen on being the perfect wife. She didn't want a husband, she wanted excitement.   
  
As Maria grew older, her curiosity grew as well, getting her into more and more dangerous situations, until she crossed the line.  
  
She'd been on the way home from the market, fresh fruits and vegetables in hand, and a few extra items as well. Her feet hurt from the long journey, as her home was a long way from the market, and her shoes weren't exactly made for long periods of travel. So the sight of a lush field of grass was like heaven to her eyes. The grass looked to green to be real, as if a sorcerer had enchanted it to look extra inviting. Maria could smell the scent of dewdrops and leaves as she wandered to the field and placed her basket of food under a tree. Her shoes were promptly removed, her toes digging themselves into the soft ground as she walked through the field. This was where she wanted to be forever. Not on some errand, or out on the town with a man just to appease her parents. Here, she felt free of any responsibility. She felt like she could just lay in the grass and sleep.  
  
  
  
The feeling didn't last very long.  
  
Maria's feeling of completion was disturbed by a loud groan of pain. The sound was like a dying animal, a sound she'd heard as a child running through the forest. Maria had helped plenty of animals with injuries, to the horror of her mother. And at the age of seventeen, she had more than enough knowledge to be able to help any creature she came across.   
  
She did not, however, have any clue how to fix the injuries of an actual human being.  
  
Although human wasn't a very good way to describe the man in front of her. The horns on his head and tail lashing around his body, were anything but human. And the blood red eyes couldn't possibly be anything but demonic. There was no doubt about it, the man wasn't a man at all, but a demon.   
  
Anyone else would have run away, and Maria was on the verge of doing so. Then her eyes noticed the clawed hand that clutched at the demon's side, covered in blood and dirt. The demon's teeth were pointed, and clenched, his face contorted in pain. Maria's heart clenched in sadness for him, and instantly, any thoughts of escape left her mind. She inched forward, hands held out defensively, years of calming injured animals coming out.   
  
"Hey, hey. Calm, I'm not going to hurt you." Maria made sure to keep her voice steady, as the demon noticed her presence and began to growl. "I'm not going to harm you, I want to help."  
  
"Nonsense." The demon hissed, face contorting with more pain as he twisted his body to meet Maria. "No human would dare help a demon. You only speak lies."  
  
"I'm not like them." Maria soothed. "I would never hurt someone who hasn't hurt me. You have made no attempt to harm me, so demon or not, I have no conflict with you."  
  
Maria could tell that her words struck something, hit a nerve. The demon's eyes softened a bit, the growling silenced. Now he just looked pensive, questioning. "You would help a creature like me?"  
  
"Like I said, you've made no attempt to hurt me. And demon or not, you're a living being. I have no reason to hurt you." Maria let her hands down, walking calmly now, getting closer to the demon. "Now let me see."  
  
Warily, the demon moved his hand, showing the deep gash in his side. The wound was a nasty one, smooth and bloody. "How did this happen?" Maria's hands touched the skin around the wound, surprised to find it ice cold.  
  
"...was walking. I did not know that I had crossed the border. Some human soldiers spotted me. They left me here for dead." The demon's voice was suddenly filled with spite. Eyes beginning to glow at the anger flowing through him.   
  
"Well you're safe now." Maria sighed. "So calm down. Getting angry is only going to make it worse. Besides, you can't get revenge if your hurt. If you can manage to hide the horns and the tail, then maybe I might be able to get you to my mother. She's better at this than I am."  
  
"More humans?"  
  
"Don't worry. If they don't know what you are, then you'll be fine. My mother will patch you up and I'll send you on your way." Maria watched as the demon's horns shrunk into nonexistence, the tail disappearing with it. She glanced at his face and blinked. "You might want to lose the red eyes too. That's not a very common eye color for humans."  
  
The red faded to a dull black, and Maria nodded. She rushed back to put on her shoes and pick up her basket before she helped the demon stand. "It's just a little longer before we get there. Do you think you can walk?"  
  
"I may require some assistance."  
  
"Well alright then."  
\----  
"Maria! Your dress! What happened to you? And who is this?!"   
  
Maria flinched as her mother screeched into her ears. She'd seen this coming the second she noticed that the hem of her dress was covered in mud. Her feet were muddy too, but it was easy to hide with her shoes. It would be easy to remove the mud from her feet, her dress was another issue, and since she had refused to learn to do housework as a child, her mother would have to do it.  
  
Lucky for her, that her mother was more interested in the man who had his arm around her shoulder. Maria eyed her mother as the woman flitted around her. (For someone who always complained about her back, she could really move when she wanted to.)   
  
"Mother, this is...uhm..." Maria froze, suddenly realizing that she had no idea what the demon's name was. She'd been a little more occupied trying to keep him alive long enough to get home.   
  
The demon took the hint. "Hades. My name is Hades."  
  
Maria's mother paused. "Quite a unique name. But I suppose that someone as attractive as you would have to have a different name to separate you from the others huh?" Her eyebrows raised suggestively, and Maria groaned.  
  
"Mother, you're married."  
  
"So? A woman can be married and still enjoy a little eye candy."  
  
"Well, this eye candy is injured."  
  
The flirtatious assault ended abruptly, the woman going into full on medic mode. She was raised by a doctor, so she'd learned quite a bit about the medical field. Quickly, she helped her daughter take Hades to one of the guest rooms and laid him on the bed. Then, she examined the demon's wound, while she made Maria rush around and grab medical tools.   
  
"How did this happen?"   
  
"He got into an altercation with a few soldiers." Maria answered, since Hades was a bit busy wailing in pain at the copious amounts of alcohol being pressed to his wound. "The soldiers won."  
  
Mrs. di Angelo  scoffed, cleansing the wound of the mud and blood around it. "Ignorant soldiers. Always causing trouble. I don't even know why we need them anymore. The war is over, the treaty was signed. There aren't any demons to fight anymore, the soldiers are just a waste of money."  
  
Maria nodded, deciding to keep quiet about the fact that there was a demon right in front of them.  
  
Hades hissed in pain again, and for a second, Maria could see the points of his horns starting to reappear from his head. Maria rushed to cover his forehead with a cool cloth, effectively hiding the slip up. Then his tail started to come out. That was a bit harder to hide.  
  
"Alright." Mrs. di Angelo sighed as Hades's tail tickled Maria's leg, wrapping around it tightly. Maria made quick work of unwrapping it and stuffing it under the covers. "All finished. Just a few days of healing and you should be fine." She gathered the cloth from Hades's head- the horns were gone, thank the stars- and headed to the door. "Try to stay away from those pesky soldiers okay?"  
  
Hades paled. "Days?"  
  
"Yes. Days. You were cut pretty deep, and movement is only going to make it worse. If you wish to avoid reopening that wound, you need rest and time to heal."  
  
"But I have to-"  
  
"You have to stay in bed and rest. That's that." The door slammed, and Hades groaned.  
  
"Fantastic. First I'm injured by a human, now I have to stay here. What would father say?"  
  
"Don't complain." Maria scoffed. "You have the easy part. You just have to heal. I have to hide a demon from my parents."  
  
\----  
  
"Is everyone in your family as horribly stubborn as you?"  
  
Maria turned her head to see Hades sitting up. He was staring out the window, watching a few birds fly by. She paused, placing down the book she'd been reading. "You shouldn't be sitting up. You're going to agitate that cut."  
  
"You didn't answer my question."  
  
Maria sighed. "Yes. Almost everyone in my family is stubborn. It's a trait. Why?"  
  
"Just wondering if I'm making the right choice."  
  
"What on Earth are you talking about?"  
  
"How long have I been here?" Hades asked, picking at a loose string on the shirt he was wearing. It wasn't his. It belonged to Maria's father, but he was away, so he wouldn't miss the garment.  
  
Maria shrugged. "I don't know. At least a couple weeks or so?" It was true. Hades had been staying for quite a while, so long that Maria's mother began to question if he was healing at all. He'd been resting for a long time, but whenever the wound was checked, it poured out fresh blood, as if it refused to heal.  
  
"Does it normally take this long for a wound to heal?"  
  
"No. Not for a human. But demons are different."  
  
"Maria, if I wanted to, I could heal this wound right now. When you found me in that field, I didn't need medical aid, I needed time. I could have healed myself days ago. I have the power."  
  
"If you can do that, then why haven't you?"  
  
"Because getting healed, means having to leave, and I don't want to go back just yet."  
  
Maria closed the book, setting it on the desk in the corner and coming to sit next to her wounded guest. "Why not?"  
  
"Do you know where demons come from?"  
  
"Hell."  
  
"That's right." Hades said. "I'm from Hell. And I can tell you firsthand that Hell is nothing like this place. That's why I was in that field. I'd never seen anything like it before. Where I live, we don't have fields of grass. We're lucky to have a day without a public execution taking place. If I heal myself, I'll have no choice but to go back."  
  
"And pretending to be injured gives you a reason to stay longer."  
  
"I just want to learn a little more about this place." Hades said quickly. "I've only heard about humans but I've never seen them up close until today and you and your mother seemed kind enough. I want to see more than I'm used to. For once, I just want to be free of Hell."  
  
Maria nodded. She understood the issue completely. Hades was a lot like her, just wanting to see something different. He wasn't causing any harm, just exploring. And because someone had jumped to conclusions about his actions, he was wrongfully injured. Maria could empathize with him. And while hiding a demonic creature of Hell from her snoopy mother and intelligent father was going to be a task and a half, she was prepared to do it, if it meant she could give this man a little freedom.  
  
"Let us make a deal." She smiled, placing her hand on Hades's shoulder. Normally, he would flinch away, still wary of a human's touch. But now he did no such thing. If anything, he leaned towards the touch, basking in it for comfort. "If you can make an effort to gradually heal yourself, when you start to get better, I'll take you for walks around the countryside. You can see the people and the fields. Whatever you want."  
  
Hades raised an eyebrow. "Gradually heal myself?"  
  
Maria nodded. "Yes, gradually. If you heal overnight, my mother will have her suspicions, especially after all this time of not healing at all. She's a nosy woman, and if she suspects that something is up, she'll find out what you are. So no burst healing. Only heal yourself a little bit at a time."  
  
"I'm not sure I'm capable of doing such a thing." Hades murmured. "I'm still young, so I don't have full control of my powers."  
  
"How old are you?"  
  
"In demon standards, I'm quite young. Practically a child. What you would call a teenager. But in human years, I'm about three hundred years old." Hades spoke as if being three hundred years old, was a normal thing. Which for him, it probably was. But it astounded Maria.  
  
"Three hundred? That's young? For a human, making it to sixty is considered a blessing. Especially if you can't afford medicine." Maria stared at Hades as he smiled nervously, showing rows of pointy teeth. Usually, he kept them hidden, as it wouldn't do to have anyone else see them, but around Maria, he let his human facade fade a bit, so he wouldn't use up his power. "Well, no matter about it. Young demon or not, your dreams of seeing the human world depend on your ability to control your powers, so keep it together."  
  
Hades nodded, smile widening as Maria pranced out of the room, muttering about how three hundred was nowhere near young.


	2. Prologue  (Part Two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything seemed to both fascinate and frighten Hades at the same time. Maria could see how his fellow demons would perceive him to be a child. He certainly acted like one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part Two!!!

The next few weeks found Maria falling head over heels.   
  
She and Hades had begun to take walks along the countryside, like she'd promised. It had taken some arguing with her mother, and even a short spout of begging- which Hades himself, would never admit to- but Mrs. di Angelo had said yes. She knew that she couldn't keep her daughter down for long. She also knew that if she said no, Maria would eventually just sneak out and do it anyway. Better to just give in now, than deal with a headache later.   
  
And so, Hades and Maria took leisurely strolls everyday.    
  
In the mornings, Maria would wake up early, before her mother was set to check on Hades. She would creep into the guest room to find Hades with his hand already over his wound, glowing with a faint red tinge as he healed himself. Then, she would check to make sure that he hadn't overdone it. Maria's mother would come and check in, and then they would be on their way, Maria dressed in an old dress and worn shoes, and Hades dressed in Maria's father's old clothes. They fit him well enough, though the shirt and waistband of the pants were a bit loose, because Hades was a bit thinner than the original owner of the clothing. The two men did not have the same shoe size, so Hades had no choice but to wear the boots he had with him. Hades didn't mind. According to him, he would gladly prance around naked, if it meant he could stay a little longer. (Maria had promptly advised him to do nothing of the sort.)   
  
The two of them would take their time, walking through the town. Maria would wave at the children playing by the forest, just like her when she was younger, and Hades would ask questions. That's how he kept conversation going, wondering aloud or asking things whenever Maria would stop talking long enough for the silence to stretch between them.   
  
"What is that little green hoppy thing? Is it dangerous?"   
  
"Hades, that's a frog. It's harmless."   
  
"And that flappy creature with the wings?"   
  
"That's a butterfly. Still harmless."   
  
"Maria, this four legged beast is sniffing at me. What do I do?"   
  
"...that's a dog. Pet it."   
  
Everything seemed to both fascinate and frighten Hades at the same time. Maria could see how his fellow demons would perceive him to be a child. He certainly acted like one. He yelped when he saw a deer, and whenever he saw a river, he'd beg Maria to come and play in the water with him. It was more times than not that they ended up walking home, soaked and laughing. Maria learned to wash her clothes herself, so her mother would stop complaining about cleaning the mud off of the dresses. Hades would help her sometimes. He was also pretty good with the chores. Even after he was fully healed, Hades begged to stay longer, and eventually, Mrs. di Angelo demanded that if he was to stay, he had to help out. So he chipped in everyday. With Maria's father always away on diplomatic trips, the chores that a man would usually do, were left to Maria and her mother. But with Hades around, those chores were left to him, and were done with enthusiasm and gusto. He had no problem cutting wood for the fireplace or helping to mend to the garden. And all the time he spent outside, gave him quite the tan, turning his skin to a deep olive color. He developed muscles quickly too, muscles that were nearly impossible to ignore due to his habit of working without a shirt.   
  
Maria's mother took notice to them quickly, and she often teased her daughter about the idea of marrying Hades.    
  
"Mother, no." Maria would argue, to which her mother would whine like a child.   
  
"Why not? He's a perfectly capable husband. Good with the chores, handsome, polite. If I were your age, I'd go for him immediately."   
  
"I have no interest in marriage Mother."   
  
"Well, it's bound to happen sometime. You can't spend your whole life alone. And he's a mighty good man. If I were you, I'd at least give it a chance, stake your claim before any of the other girls get to him." She'd frown and scoff. "You know the that Jameson girl, Giselle? She's had her eye on him for a long time now. Beady eyed girl. No manners at all, don't know how her parents raised her-"    
  
Maria always found time to slip out of the room before her mother started ranting.   
  
But lately, she began to notice how right her mother was. Not just about Hades being great husband material. (Not that he wasn't. He was an amazing person, even if he was a demon, polite and sweet and strong.) But about the fact that other young women were beginning to notice him. Maria would be walking through the town market with him, letting him carry the basket as he always offered to. And suddenly, Hades would be gone, the basket hurriedly placed into her hands as the demon was tugged away and surrounded by women trying to flirt. You could tell that he was uncomfortable, and he always ended up calling for Maria to rescue him. The looks that those women gave her as she let Hades take the basket back and resume their shopping, would have been lethal if looks were capable of killing.   
  
Not to mention the fact that rumors had begun to spread. The townspeople were starting to think that Hades and Maria were together. Maria could hear the old women gossiping about it more and more these days. And to make matters worse, Hades never denied the rumors when he was asked, making the rumor even more believable. Maria didn't know whether she should be infuriated or flattered.   
  
She did however begin to notice a lot of things. Like the that Hades's muscles rippled as he moved to pick up the wood for the fireplace. And the way his eyes always flashed red a bit when he smiled at her, as if looking at her made him forget to hide his eyes. Or, how whenever she would find herself lost in a book, she'd feel the sense of being watched and look up to Hades staring at her from afar. Or the jealousy that surged in her when Hades was dragged away by another group of women- not one, but a group, because no girl was brave enough to venture near him by herself and that alone made Maria angry.   
  
The last observation really bugged her. She had no reason to be jealous at all. It wasn't like the two of them were actually together. They were simply acquaintances. She helped save his life, and was offering him a chance of short term freedom. Nothing more. (Even though the racing of her heart when Hades called for her to help, told another story.) But nevertheless, she refused to believe it. Her heart could stutter all it wanted. She wouldn't give in. She was as stubborn as she was smart, and she'd made up her mind at the age of six. She would never marry anyone.   
  
Unfortunately for her, Hades had a different opinion on the matter.   
\----   
"Eventually I have to leave." Hades said, while he sipped a glass of water on the porch. "My father is bound to notice my absence. He isn't very bright but even he'll get suspicious."   
  
Maria picked at a blade of grass. "Did you just call your father stupid?"   
  
"No." Hades said quickly. "He's very intelligent. Just not in all the right subjects. Ask him how to conquer an enemy, and he'll be able to spew out a million answers. Ask him about his children, and that's another matter entirely. But even he will notice that the heir to his throne isn't around."   
  
"You're a prince?"   
  
"I am." Hades smiled. "The crown prince to be exact. Oldest of my siblings too."   
  
"What's it like?" Maria asked. "Being royalty."   
  
Hades shrugged. "Nothing grand. I mean I live in a palace and that's pretty amazing. But mostly, it's just a lot of work. Learning about politics and government issues. Learning how to wield a sword in case of a battle. How to uphold a reputation. And arranged marriages."   
  
"Arranged marriage?"   
  
Hades nodded. "It's a tradition. I'm next in line to be king, and every king needs a queen. I can't tell you how many demon women have been tossed my way in hopes that I will wed them. It's overwhelming. That's why I was here. Trying to get away from it all."   
  
"You aren't allowed to choose your bride?"   
  
"I am." Hades began, pausing like he didn't quite know how to explain. "I just have limited choices. I can't marry a commoner, only royalty. And I can't interact with them. I'm just supposed to pick one and hope that she isn't a horrid wife."   
  
Maria frowned. She couldn't possibly imagine having to pick someone to spend the rest of her life with without ever meeting them beforehand. Sure, she didn't want to be married, but if she had to wed someone, she wasn't going in blind. No wonder Hades had left. "That's horrible. Why would they do that to you?"   
  
"Tradition." Hades shrugged helplessly, like he was accepting his fate. "Demons are hard set on following tradition. If one generation does something, you can guarantee that the next will do it. Arranged marriage is just a part of my family's history. I couldn't change it if I wanted to."   
  
"Demons sound a lot like humans. Sticking to tradition all the time." Maria murmured, thinking about how everyone in her family expected her to find a man and settle down even though they all knew she didn't want to. It was a tradition in her family, one that was ridiculous in her opinion, and it shocked her to find that demons had a system like that. Parents who wanted their children to be like them, to conform them to what they thought was right. "I bet you could change it."   
  
"What do you mean?"   
  
"Well. You're already here, even though the treaty says that you shouldn't anywhere near a human. And I'm a human who didn't think to kill you the second I saw you on this side of the border. That's two traditions already broken. I don't see why you couldn't break one more." Maria smirked, outright grinning when Hades flinched away from her.   
  
"I think you've been around me too long. You've got that demonic spark in your eye."   
  
"I've always had that." Maria sighed. "So? What do you say, want to break a tradition and find a wife on your own?"   
  
"I don't see why not." Hades mused. "I'm already going to be in trouble once I get home. Might as well make it worth the lecture."   
  
And so, they began to plan.   
  
\----   
  
Maria woke up to the scent of flowers and the sound of loud giggling.    
  
The flowery scent was from the bouquet of vibrant colored flowers on the desk beside her bed. They appeared to be freshly picked, and smelled like sweet nectar and fresh dew. Maria didn't know how they got there, as there wasn't a note saying who they were from, but Maria enjoyed them anyway.   
  
She did not enjoy the giggling though.    
  
The sound was a loud one, just outside her window, as if there were a hundred small children waiting outside to pull some sort of tomfoolery on her. Maria threw the covers off her body, stomping angrily to the window to see who had interrupted her sleep. She opened the window harshly, poking her head out and growling at the sight below her.    
  
"Hades, what are you doing?"    
  
The demon looked at with a smile, one that did not match the scowls of the women crowded around him. "Maria. You're awake."   
  
"Hard to sleep with the banshees calling all morning." Maria scowled at the women, taking a substantial amount of pride at the offended looks on their faces.    
  
"Your mother told me to put these flowers somewhere, so I figured I'd put them by your window."   
  
"Why?"   
  
"It just seemed right."   
  
"What are they doing here?" Maria nodded to the crowd of women below her window. One of them snorted at her, and she scowled even further.   
  
"Oh." Hades said, as if he'd just noticed that the women were still there. "They were walking to the market. I guess they saw me working and wanted to talk. Do you want them to leave?"   
  
"Do you?"   
  
Hades shrugged. "I don't mind either way. But seeing as how they woke you up, I think it would be best if they did."   
  
Maria smirked at the women in cold blood. "You heard him. Goodbye."   
  
"Wait!" One of them yelped, clutching at Hades like a madwoman. "You'll think about what I said right?"   
  
Hades shook her off. "I already told you Lillith. My answer is no."   
The woman stalks away with the rest of her friends, heads held high even though they're all pretty offended at being shooed away like that. Maria raises an eyebrow to her demonic friend.

“What was that all about?”

Hades sighs, long and suffering. “A marriage proposal. Her father sent her here because he believed I would be a suitable husband for her.”

“That's great. You could marry her and be happy. You problem would be solved.”

“I don't love her. And marrying that woman without loving her would be even worse than an arranged marriage. I already have someone in mind, and I won't take anyone else.”

  
Maria groaned. “Okay, okay. We'll find this dream woman of yours so you can marry her.” She watched Hades work for a little while longer, noticing the clumsy way he was moving under her gaze. He kept dropping the flowers or covering up the whole without putting anything in it, like he was in a trance. It was only amusing for so long. When it stopped being amusing, Maria dressed herself and called Hades in to clean himself off. She made him tidy up, saying that he could finish the flower bed later, that she wanted to start searching for his bride to be, before they ran out of time. Hades followed like a lost puppy.


	3. Prologue (Part 3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, this fic got a lot of likes real fast. You guys are amazing. So to thank you for the overwhelming amount of support- and the lack of posting- here's part three of the prologue.

Maria and Hades set up their old system again, leaving early and returning late. Some days would be spent just lounging around, looking at things, because Hades still had so many questions about the human world. Others were spent in a public place, like the market or the patches of grass by the busy paths, in search of Hades’s future bride. (Who never seemed to show up, even though he insisted that she was real and not a figment of his imagination.)

Both of them knew that they had a limited amount of time before Hades had to return to Hell, so they agree to make the most of every day they have. This leads to a few discoveries. One, Hades can't stand apple pie- a lesson learned after Mrs. di Angelo fed him a piece and he nearly puked after the first bite. (Maria's mother was extremely offended, since she thought her pie was the best. To boost her ego, Hades gorged on the peach cobbler that she made.) Two, Hades loves spiders. When Maria found one on her shoulder, Hades had calmed her down and carefully let the creature crawl on him. He'd grinned at it like it was a puppy. And three, Hades is good with many things, but children is not one of them. Maria learned this when she was talking to a young girl outside of a shop. The girl had been practically buzzing with energy until Hades walked out, groceries in hand and smiled at her. The little girl had taken one look at her and fled as fast as her feet could carry her. When Maria had asked about it, Hades had explained that while most humans couldn't notice what he was if he kept it hidden, children had something that others didn't,  making it easier for them to notice a demon in hiding. Maria hadn't spoken about it since.

Even with the time crunch, they managed to have all the fun they could. It was only a week before Hades had planned to leave that things went wrong. Horribly wrong.

* * *

 

 

Maria rushed into the guest room, slamming the door behind her and startling Hades out of his nap.

“Wha-?”

“Soldiers!” Maria yelled. “Demon, border, riot, whipping, help!”

“Slow down, what's happening?” Hades sat up wiping the slobber from his mouth- he tended to drool in his sleep nowadays- and rushing to Maria's side, making her sit on the bed to explain.

“A demon crossed the border.” Maria huffed. “I saw him. He was being taken by soldiers. I was in the town square when they brought him in. He was- he knew you. He was calling for you. He said he was your...herald?”

Hades froze, eyes widening in horror. “Thanatos.”

“Than- Thana- arg, who is that?”

“Exactly as you said, Thanatos is my herald. When I was in Hell, he kept me out of trouble. I suppose you could say that he was more of my babysitter. Either way, he was probably sent by my father to collect me and bring me home. And now, because of my error, he's in danger.” Hades stood, grabbing a shirt from the dresser and putting it on. “I have to save him.”

“Are you crazy?” Maria hissed. “If you go save him, they'll know what you are, and they'll come for you next.”

“That's what I'm planning on. No offense to you, but humans, however dangerous you may be when banded together, you still have one track minds. Only able to focus on one problem at a time. And if those soldiers see me, a more powerful demon, they'll lose interest in Thanatos and chase me.”

“Okay, one.” Maria sighed. “How was that not offensive? And two, your plan is completely insane. The square is filled with soldiers and angry townspeople. They aren't going to stop until they have your friend's head on a plaque. If you show up, they'll just kill you too.”

“A little death never hurt anyone.”

“That is so wrong in so many ways.” Maria scowled. “But since you seem to be so intent on getting yourself killed, I'm coming with you.”

Hades frowned. “No. It's too dangerous.”

“If you go, I go.”

Hades opened his mouth to speak, only to have Maria cut him off. “If you think I'm letting you go out there by yourself, you're an idiot. And you know that if you leave without me, I'll just come later. I'm stubborn remember?”

Hades stared. “You, are by far the strangest human I've ever met. You harbored a demon when others would have killed me, you showed me a world I've never seen before, when anyone else would have left me. And now, you want to help me save my demon babysitter, even though there's a chance of you getting killed?”

“Yes.” Maria said, arms crossed. “Yes I do.”

“Why?”

“Because. That's what friends do. They help each other, and since I'm your friend, I'm going to help you.”

“How? If there as many of them out there as you say there are, then how do you think you'll be able to help me? You're a human, and a woman at that. Do you really think they'll listen to you, and if they do, you think they're going to like what they hear? At best, they'll force you to leave the town, and you'll have to uproot your entire life. At worst, you'll be killed. Do you really want to risk all that for someone like me?” Hades looked her right in the eye, blood red meeting warm brown because as much control as he had over his powers, he lost it when he was upset. His tail had also flashed back into existence, making itself known with the way it flicked back and forth in agitation.

Maria knew she had nothing to be afraid of. Even if Hades couldn't keep himself in check, she had no doubt that he wouldn't hurt her. Like she had said, they were friends. And even though she knew that Hades hated to bring her along, she had no intention of letting him go alone. “I've already risked my life.” She said. “When I brought you here for my mother to help you, I was risking everything. My life, my home, my father's reputation. There was no guarantee that you would be able to control you powers long enough to keep yourself hidden. And letting you stay here all this time was a risk too. What if my mother had found out? I doubt she would have been as accepting of you as I was. This entire time, I've been putting myself on the cutting board for you, getting closer to the knife everyday. I don't think one more inch is going to much of a problem. So like it or not I'm coming with you.”

“You really think you'll be able to talk them down?”

Maria stood and pulled off her shoes, deciding that they would be bad to run in if things went south. Boots would be much better. “Maybe.” she shrugged. “My father is a diplomat, and over the years, I've seen him use some tactics that might work on the townspeople.” She grabbed her boots from her room and pulled them on, meeting Hades in the hall and patting him on the shoulder.

“And even if it does go bad-” she started, pulling her hair up behind her head with a ribbon. “-I'm a tough girl, and I spent most of my time outside. I've got muscles and I know how to use them.”

“I don't want to hurt anyone if I can avoid it.”

“Neither do I.” Maria sighed. “But I grew up with these people, and I know that they don't respond well to change. And if it comes down to a fight, they won't stop. So we have to be prepared to defend ourselves.’

Hades opened the door for her- always full of chivalry even at a time like this. “You truly are crazy.”

Maria shrugged.

* * *

 

 

If Hades had thought that the scene in the town square was going to be tame, he was horribly wrong. The town square was in a riot, townspeople gathered in an angry crowd around a large wooden pole- that hadn't been there when Maria had first been here. Attached to the pole, was a pair of iron cuffs, and attached to the cuffs was a demon. Obviously, he was a demon, since he had a tail and eyes as red as a fresh wound. Unlike Hades the day Maria had found him, this demon was naked, though that probably wasn't his choice, as his body was covered in whip lashes.

The tail on his body was wrapped tightly around the pole, clenching every time the whip hit his body. His pointed teeth gritted in pain, fists shaking in underlying fury. His hair was cut short, revealing quite the number of marks on his throat and chest, intricate designs that swirled on his skin.

“Thanatos.” Hades hissed angrily, stepping in front of Maria to shove his way- politely, because he's just like that- through the crowd. Maria followed him, having to shove a bit more than Hades did because while he could part an ocean with his smile and a simple word, Maria was not so charming. It took her a while to find Hades, because every time she saw his head, when she got there, he was gone, but she eventually found him in the front of the crowd. She'd never seen him so angry. She'd seen him upset, sure, he was upset when she met him, but right now, he looked downright vicious. His eyes were glowing, his clenched fists alight with the same glow as his eyes, teeth morphing back into their true, pointed form.

“What are they doing to him?” he growled out, voice less soothing than usual, due to his anger spike.

Maria gripped his arm, not answering until the limb unclenched and relaxed. “A sort of punishment, probably trying to get answers. If your friend came here for you, then he undoubtedly stated his reason for being here, which means that they know that you're here. Well, they know that there are now two demons on our side of the border, and they obviously want answers. It's probably a trap, using him to find the other demon- in this case, you- and draw you out.”

“They're hurting him because of me? I never knew humans could be so cruel.”

Maria doesn't say anything to that. What can she say? It isn't like Hades is wrong. They've both seen it before, just how cruel human beings can really be. Maria has seen girls used by men, men beating on innocent animals for fun. Hades has been a victim of it. There's nothing to say.

“So, do we have a plan?” she asked instead watching Thanatos wince in pain as the whip struck him again. (Hades flinched as well, as if he could feel the pain on his own body.) “Because I think we're going to be dire need of one. Any suggestions?”

“Rescue Thanatos. Try to not kill any humans.” Hades said.

“That's not a plan. That's what we hope will happen. I mean an actual- and never mind.” Hades was already moving away from her, slowly getting closer to the man with the whip with a deadly glare. Maria made her way to the center of the commotion, just a few feet from the demon. His eyes singled her out, nostrils flaring, eyes widening in veiled recognition. His mouth opened to speak, but the only sound that came out was a garbled whine of pain.

Now that Maria was closer, she could hear what was being said. She hadn't been able to before, as the crowd had been screaming hateful things at the creature before them, but now, she could hear loud and clear.

The man holding the whip was a preacher, though he wasn't one that Maria had ever met. His hair was slicked back, revealing thick eyebrows that reminded Maria of caterpillars. His eyes were the color of poison ivy, his lips spewing saliva every time he spoke, as if he was too beastly to talk correctly. Even the words he said were horrid and putrid. Words about how demons were an abomination and needed to cleansed. About how only the people of holy origin were permitted to walk the Earth. His words were enunciated with a lash of the whip, and Maria was almost glad when Hades knocked him unconscious with a fist to the back of the head.

Almost.

The preacher crumpled to the ground, the whip dropping with him, to reveal a seething Hades. His fist is still shaking, as if it took all the effort he had to not unleash a wave of catastrophic power upon the preacher. His eyes had lost their human illusion, reverting themselves back to their natural red color,  as his tail twitched into reality, stiff and rigid with the intensity of his anger. Maria could hear the people around her exclaiming in fear.

“-another one? How many have gotten through the border?”

“-one of them? My daughter wanted to marry him.”

“Two demons? What has the world come to?”

The chained demon whipped to face Hades, expression turning into one of extreme relief, mouth stretching into a pained smile. “Master Hades! Thank goodness I've found you! Your father's been looking for you.”

“I know.” Hades grinned, even though he was surrounded by a rather angry crowd of people. “I've missed you old friend.”

“Hades! What are you-? What is this?”

Maria watched as an old man wandered out from the crowd and glared at Hades questioningly. She recognized the man as the father of one of the girls who'd wanted to marry Hades. Lilith. Maria found it ironic that just a few days ago, he wanted his daughter to marry a demon but now was cursing the existence of them.

“I'm not sure what you mean” Hades says blandly.

“How can you be one of them? A demon. You betrayed our trust.”

“He did not.” Maria spat, deciding that she'd had enough of watching the scene unfold. “He did no such thing. You act as if he explicitly told you that he was human. He never said he was and he never said he wasn't. You just assumed, and now you're angry because your assumption was wrong?”

“He's one of them! Those heinous creatures!”

“What does it matter? He didn't hurt anyone!”

“He broke the treaty, and because of him, we have two demons on our side of the border!”

“That's what you're upset about? Because he stepped over some boundary? I doubt he's the first demon to wander across the border and I doubt he'll be the last.” Maria's eyes caught sight of Hades slowly inching to his friend, using her argument as a cover to release him. “If being duped by a couple of curious demons makes you that angry, then maybe you should consider moving to a town further away from the border.”

Lilith's father scoffed. “How traitorous of you to side with such a beastly creature. I'd expect nothing less of someone like you.”

“Someone like me?” Maria could see Hades breaking a few chains off of Thanatos, pausing to give her a pointed look. _Keep it up_ , his eyes said. “What do you mean _someone like me?”_

“Ms. di Angelo let's face it, you're not normal.  You'd rather spend all your time getting horribly dirty and disgusting than be the proper young woman you should be. You're no closer to getting married, and now you'd lowered yourself to consorting with unholy beasts.”

Maria raised an eyebrow, smirk growing on her face. (Maybe she was spending too much time around Hades. Her thoughts had been getting progressively darker for a while, and her smirk had gotten a bit more sadistic than usual.) She stepped up to Lilith's father proudly. “You're right. I don't like dresses, or getting my hair done and the idea of marriage makes me sick.  But at least I don't spend all my time looking for someone to make me whole. At least _I_ don't walk around here judging someone I've never met.” Maria turned to the rest of the townspeople, anger surging through her, irritation buzzing in her head. “Hades has done no wrong here. He hasn't hurt any of you. Just a few days ago, half of the women here wanted to marry him. Before you knew what he was, you wanted him. And now you're telling me that you want to forget all that because he's a demon? Why does what you think of him change now?”

“He's a demon!”

“-monster! Nothing but a feral beast!”

“-horrid thing!”

“Are we any different?” Maria shrieked. “The day I met him, Hades was lying on the ground beaten half to death by soldiers who didn't think twice. We did that, not them! Now, we have another demon here, bound in chains and whipped like a criminal, even though he's done nothing wrong. Demons aren't the ones at fault here, we are. And if this keeps us, soon we'll have another war on our hands. All they want is to get along, that's all they've ever wanted. And if we can't coexist, then we should at least let them go home with no trouble. Can you at least let them do that?”

The people murmured, glancing back and forth between Hades- who had freed Thanatos and was now helping him stand- and Maria, who stood in front of the two demons. Maria knew what they were thinking. They thought she was siding with the demons, becoming a traitor. They were wrong. Maria wasn't picking a side, she couldn't care less about the whole human versus demon drama. She was only doing what was right. And if helping these two get home safely was the right thing to do, then she'd do it happily.

“Fine.” Lilith's father huffed, as if he was growing tired of this conversation. (Good. Maria was tired of hearing about it.) “They may leave, on two conditions. They may never return, and yoy must go with them.”

“What?”

The man shrugged. “You chose your side, I am simply speaking for the people. If you are willing to help them now, then you should have no problem staying with them.”

“You can't possibly be serious.” Hades protested, holding Thanatos up. He glanced at Maria. “This is her home.”

“She made her choice.”

“But-”

“He's right.” Maria cut Hades off, ignoring the protestant glare he sent her way. “I made a choice, now I have to stand by it. I just need to collect my things and get Thanatos healed up. Then we'll leave. We'll be gone before the sun rises tomorrow.” Maria moved to Thanatos’s side, taking some of his weight off of Hades’s shoulders. “Come on. The sooner we get him fixed up, the sooner we can leave.”

  
Hades didn't speak to her the whole way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this is getting to be a lot longer than I originally planned. This is probably going to be a four part thing.


	4. Prologue  (Part Four)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maria had her father's hands. Worn hands with thin, calloused fingers. Strong, despite their delicate appearance. She had his caring nature too. The urge to help someone that she inherited from him. She wondered how he would feel if her saw her now, with his hands and his attitude, in this much trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look who got writer's block while working on BHC and then got inspiration for ITB! Me!!!!!  
> So thank my brain for this chapter guys.

Maria sighed as she brushed the hair out of her face. She had hair like her mother, straight but curly too, like a mixture of the two textures, which made it nearly impossible to tame. She also had her mother's face. Kind, brown eyes that sparkled when she laughed- she only knew that because Hades had said it to her once- thin yet somehow also full lips, like they couldn't decide which option they wanted so they chose both. Maria hated to see the face of her mother, become the face of a ‘traitor’.

Maria had her father's hands. Worn hands with thin, calloused fingers. Strong, despite their delicate appearance. She had his caring nature too. The urge to help someone that she inherited from him. She wondered how he would feel if her saw her now, with his hands and his attitude, in this much trouble.

Next to her Hades stood, silently watching the border. His tail was out, along with the rest of his natural appearance, as there was no reason to keep himself hidden. He refused to look at Maria. No doubt he was angry with her for agreeing to this. He wanted her to stay with her family, be happy.  Maria decided not to tell him that she was happy now.

Sure, she was still sad. She grew up here, made friends, played, got into trouble. She would miss it here, it was her home and it always would be. But she had always longed for excitement, an adventure, and now she had one. Sure, it had taken the risking of her life to find it, but she had it now.

Of course, that didn't stop her from crying when her mother hugged her. Choked her was more like it, but Maria still cried. She'd miss her mother, and her habitual nosy-ness, her tendency to rant about the smallest things. She would miss being nagged about chores and etiquette. Even now, her mother nagged.

“Make sure you wash your hair. You may be going to Hell, but the last thing you need is to look like hell. And of all the dresses you could have picked-” Her rant was interrupted by her sniffling, and she gave up, going in for another hug. “Try not to get into any trouble?”

“I'll do my best mother.” Maria murmured. 

Her mother cried as she waddled away, her shoes probably hurting her feet, and Maria choked on a sob.

“You could have stayed here.” Hades growled softly next to her, tail flicking in annoyance. “You would have been happy.”

“If I stayed, they would have tried to kill me for betrayal.”

“You've done nothing wrong.”

“Tell them that.” Maria said, glancing back at the crowd of people who had gathered to watch them leave. Mixed in with the crowd were a few soldiers, ready to fight if something went wrong. (As if one of them would fight.) 

“They'll try to kill you in Hell too.” Thanatos said, leaning on Hades. Maria's mother had bandaged his wounds the day before, but he was having trouble healing. His voice was tired and a bit broken. “Our kind don't take well to humans.”

“They won't kill me.” Maria said. “Hades wouldn't let them.”

Thanatos let out a suffering sigh, as if he knew she was being truthful and didn't what to do about it.

“I suppose we should stop wasting time.” Hades glanced at Maria, eyebrows raised, as if to ask:  _ Are you sure you want to do this? _

Maria nodded, hands gripping the strap of the bag she had on her shoulder. It belonged to her mother, and was stuffed full of all the belongings Maria could fit into it. “Yes, I guess we should just get on with it.”

“Certainly.” Thanatos said. “Your father will be pleased to see you Hades.”

“I'm sure he will.” Hades said, almost bitterly.

Maria couldn't be sure, but as they stepped over the border,  she could have sworn she saw a bitter smirk on Hades's face.

* * *

 

When Maria thought of Hell, she hadn't imagined something so beautiful. She envisioned brimstone and fire, the smell of sulfur in the air, the sound of tortured souls permeating the air. She imagined blood rain like in the stories she'd heard from her mother. Maybe some demons running around causing havoc. 

But never had she even imagined that Hell would look like this. Maria had imagined the place to be dark, and it was. The sky was a deep shade of black and red, the black melding into red as the sky stretched to the horizon. There were sparkling lights in the sky that looked like stars, glimmering and shimmering with a sliver color. The air was thick with the heady scent of jasmine, like the incense that her mother lit in the house when she wanted to relax. The three of them stood by a riverbank, the river colored a honey brown tinted with red. 

“Welcome home.” Thanatos said in a relieved tone, shoulders sagging a bit as he leaned heavily on Hades.

“It's beautiful.” Maria sighed, watching the river slosh lazily against the riverbank. 

Hades smirked. “It is. But it's still Hell.”

“Couldn't give me one minute could you?” 

“After what you did? No, I'm afraid I can't.”

“And what did I do wrong?”

Hades glared at her with exasperation, as if he didn't understand how she couldn't see the error of her ways. “You agreed to this. You could have fought them, fought for your life, your home. Instead, you gave in, submitted and allowed them to send you away like a street rat.”

“I was trying to keep you safe!” Maria hissed. 

“I told you I'd be fine on my own. But you just had to be stubborn and come along anyway, and now look where it's gotten you! In Hell, literally.”

“I'm not dead am I?”

“You think that's a good enough answer to something like this? That you may be in Hell but at least you're not dead?”

“I'm just trying to be optimistic, keep my brain from focusing on the negative. Maybe you should try it sometime.”

Hades's eyes flared bright, fists clenching, teeth grinding together. “I would try to see the positive if I wasn't so angry that this happened! I never wanted this! If I had known that all this would happen, I never would have crossed that border! I would have just sucked it up and dealt with my problems. And now, because I was having a stupid meltdown over something so idiotic, you're stuck in Hell and my best friend is injured!”

“Hades?” Thanatos interrupted meekly.

“What?” Hades hissed.

Thanatos’s brow furrowed. “Okay. One, do not take that tone with me, I have done nothing wrong to you. Two, your powers are overloading. And three, I don't think this is the time for petty blame games. The night is nearly over. We need to get moving before she is spotted.” Thanatos nodded towards Maria, while Hades glanced down at himself. His body was glowing with a frightening black aura, so different from his regular red glow. The area around him was cold, close to freezing, and Maria shivered. 

Hades took a deep breath, and the glow faded slightly. He glanced at the horizon and sighed, handing a tired Thanatos to Maria. “Take him. I'll lead the way, and this'll give me time to calm down a bit.”

Maria tightened her bag, and let Thanatos fall onto her side, groaning at the sudden addition of weight. Hades stomped ahead, and Maria glanced at Thanatos. He raised a brow at her, and she started to walk.

* * *

 

“What the hell is his problem?” Maria griped as she paused to let Thanatos rest a bit. Maria frowned at the silhouette of Hades, who was still moving forward. Eventually, he'd glance back and see that they weren't following and stop. But his sudden change in attitude towards her was grating on her nerves. “I saved his life, gave him a place to stay, helped rescue his friend. Why is so angry with me?”

“He isn't.” 

Maria frowned deeper, staring up at Thanatos, who gestured that he was okay to keep moving forward. Maria let him take a step just to be sure, before she spoke. “What do you mean?”

“His anger is towards himself.”

Maria's eyes flicked to Hades quizzically. “Why?”

“For letting this happen. Letting you get caught in the middle of it. Going across the border in the first place. His thoughts are unclear, so it's a bit difficult to tell one problem from another but one thing is clear. Hades is angry with no one but himself.” Thanatos said quietly, pausing to let Maria frown at him.

“His thoughts are unclear? Can you read his mind?”

Thanatos scoffed. “Of course not. I am no telepath. We have a Link.”

“A what now?”

“Link. A Link. A mental and emotional connection to one another.” Thanatos explained.  “I can't read his mind, but sometimes, fragments of his thoughts fall into my own thought processes. The same applies for him. We can also sense each other's emotions from time to time.”

“So he isn't mad at me?”

Thanatos shook his head. “No. He does worry for your safety though. He thinks he might lose you, and that scares him.”

“Why?”

Thanatos blinked at her. “He hasn't told you?”

“Told me what?”

“Nothing.” the demon smirked knowingly. “I won't ruin the surprise. You'll have to find out on your own.”

  
Maria didn't like the sound of that

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this prologue is practically becoming the actual story. I'm glad I didn't try to put all this in one chapter or else that would be one hell of a chapter. 
> 
> Feedback is appreciated guys, and I'm actually working on the next chapter of this- since writer's block is an ass and a half- so be expecting the next chapter within the next week (hopefully)


	5. Prologue  (Part Five)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maria gets found out, figures it out, and Hades has an announcement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear we're almost done with this prologue.....I can see the light at the end of this tunnel and I'm sprinting at it.

 

When Hades had said that he was a prince, Maria had been a bit skeptical at first. Hades may have been polite, but he wasn't exactly what most would imagine a prince to be like. He had a way with words, but only when he could figure out how to use them, and most of the time, he couldn't. He was brash and quickly excited by the smallest things, so unlike the idea of a prince being calm and collected. In reality, he really was like a child. So imagine Maria's surprise when Hades led her to an actual palace. 

The palace was huge, as palaces are expected to be, made of some kind of black stone. There were windows, some with stained glass and others with just plain glass. In one side of the palace, there was strange looking plant growing up the stone, purple flowers glowing against the palace. The inside was even more amazing, the halls lined with deep red decor, glowing torches set at intervals on the walls as lighting. And the halls were busy, filled with demon women bustling about with food or cloth or cleaning supplies. During the walk to the palace- the time that Hades had angrily taken to think for himself- Hades had come up with a plan. Maria was to be a palace maid. It was perfect, according to him- Maria would later have other things to say of that experience- because there were hundreds of maids. Maria would be one of many, easily hidden and difficult to notice. But even considering how perfect a plan it was, there were still flaws.

* * *

 

The first day was the hardest, the most tricky. Hiding a human from a palace full of demons was proving to be a task with a high level of difficulty. Keeping Maria away from Hades's parents long enough for him to explain had been the first objective, but they weren't the only two to be worried about. The palace was filled to the brim with all kinds of lower level demons, guards around almost every corner, chamber maids, cooks, servants of every kind. And they could all smell her. Hades found a quick solution for the smell thing, stealing some clothes from the laundry and giving them to Maria to wear. The clothing smelled like one of the flame wraiths, and Hades rubbed her with his arms and his own clothing so she'd smell more demon-like. 

But that was just the first precaution. The smell trick could fool the servants. Hades's mother would prove to be a little more tricky. Unlike her husband, Queen Rhea was in no way unintelligent. She was the real issue here, with a memory better than most. No doubt she knew almost every servant by face and name, and she would quickly be able to tell a new face. They had to find a way to convince her. Hades wracked his brain for hours to find a solution- each idea less likely to succeed than the last- while Maria learned how to be a maid. She quickly found that while the job did help keep her hidden for a time, she was not fond of it at all. For one thing, the work was strenuous. She rose early and went to bed late, with calloused hands and burnt fingertips- she still hadn't gotten the hang of lighting those lamps yet. She pricked herself with needles, and dropped the clean laundry, usually having to redo it all. She scrubbed floors, cleaned rooms, dusted, swept, and polished until her body ached, only to wake and do it all again the next day. Hades had promised her that he would find a way to make things easier for her, and he often did, coming to summon her away from her duties and give her a short while to take a break. That quickly earned her the jealousy of the other maids, and eventually, the news made it to the Lady's Maid, the one who stood by the queen's side and often reported to her the news in the palace. Hades predicted that once his mother was informed, it wouldn't be long before Maria was summoned to her, and sure enough, the next day as she was washing a kettle, she was called.

* * *

 

The queen was sitting in the palace library, skimming through books quickly, her dress glimmering a stark silver in the light of the sun- did they have suns in Hell? She was a beautiful woman, face regal and proud, eyes green, sort of like a mixture of a forest leaf, and poison, her hair woven into black braids. 

“Hello.” she said, as soon as Maria entered the room, though she hadn't said anything, and the queen hadn't looked up.

Maria bowed. “Good day, Your Majesty.”

The queen laughed. “No need for such formalities now, we're all alone.” Maria refrained from reminding her of the maid standing beside her, and shuffled forward to sit when the queen patted her hand on the seat next to her. “I just have some curious questions for you, this shan't take long.”

“Anything you wish ma'am.”

Rhea placed her book on the table in front of them, creasing the corner of the page she was on to hold her place, before she cleared her throat. “Lately, I've been receiving reports that you have been in the company of my son rather frequently.”

“Yes.” Maria said. “He summons me while I work and he takes me for walks in the palace gardens. We never stay out too long, and I always make sure to work extra hard to make up for the time I lost.”

“You do know that he is engaged to be wed to the heiress of another kingdom, right?”

Maria winced, remembering how Hades had said something about arranged marriages being thrust upon him. “Yes.” she sighed. “But he has expressed great discomfort at the thought of arranged marriage.”

“Has he?”

“Yes ma'am.”

Rhea leaned forward. “As a maid, that information should have been reported to me, by you. It is no business of yours. Do you understand that?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” she smiled, leaning back and fixing her dress. “Now onto the more stressful matters. As I am sure you've heard, I have a very good memory. I remember almost everything I've ever seen, heard or done. Even this conversation, I'll remember perfectly tomorrow evening. I also remember every single maid who works in this palace, their names, faces, and what duty they have. But despite all that, I have been becoming rather troubled by you.  This palace has had the same maids for quite some time, never changing and never getting new ones. And yet, here you come, disrupting the order and my memory. Why?”

Maria swallowed, lucky that Hades had already rehearsed an answer for a question like this when she'd been reported earlier.  “The Prince found me and brought me here. I was alone, and I didn't have anywhere to go. He suggested that I come to work in the palace. He said that even though it would be tiring work, it would be safe, it would be a home of sorts.”

“And is it home?”

“I suppose in a way, it could be compared to one.”

Rhea sighed longingly, brushing off her dress before standing, so she was looming over Maria. “You are a smart girl. I can see that. And every smart girl knows when she is in danger. And since you just lied to me, you are in grave danger.”

“But I-”

“I know for a fact, that you are lying to me, for several reasons” Rhea said, starting to pace slowly in front of where Maria was seated. “I know that my son did not bring you here, because as much as he hates the rules, he abides by them, and he knows that no stranger is to be brought here without my knowledge of it happening. I know what you are.”

“Ma'am?”

“You're a human."

Maria gulped. She and Hades hadn't rehearsed for this, he figured that they would have a bit more time. She didn't know what to say. She could lie, and maybe buy herself and Hades a little more time. But if she was caught in her lie, there was no telling what would happen to her. Telling the truth seemed to be the better option, even if there was the high probability of death. She'd rather die than have to face any sort of hellish punishment. Besides, the queen seemed to be the reasonable type, no doubt she would appreciate a little honesty, even from a human. So truth it was.

“Y-yes ma'am.” She murmured, quickly telling the queen how she had gotten here, and flinching when the Lady's Maid gasped aloud, horrified.

“Quiet Electa.” the queen sighed, her temper quick to be relieved in place of annoyance at the outburst.

The Lady's Maid glanced at the queen, eyes flicking between her master and Maria in a bit of shock and terror. “But Your Majesty, humans aren't allowed in-”

“I know Electa.”

“But if anyone else should find out about her. We could-”

Rhea’s voice raised again, eyes glowing a bit, the way her son's did when he was angry. “I said  _ quiet _ .” she hissed. “I need to think.” Rhea paced the floor of the library, her shoes clicking loudly in the otherwise silent room. She glanced at Maria calmly, gaze unfocused as she thought. “We can't kill you.” she said at last, making Maria let go of a breath she wasn't aware she was holding. “My son is obviously fond of you. He has to be, why else would he purposely break the rules and bring you here? He'll be furious with me if you turned up dead.”

Maria didn't mention the fact that Hades hadn't had much of a choice in the matter of her being here. Rhea was on a roll, and she was calming. It seemed to be a better idea to just let her think this out.

“But even though we can't kill you, you still have to stay hidden. This is a busy time for this family. My son's fiancée will be here in due time, as will all the guests for his engagement party. If you were to be discovered, we would be exiled for all eternity.” Rhea groaned in despair. “It seems I have no choice then.”

“Ma'am?”

Rhea sighed, turning to her maid and demanding her to switch places with Maria. “Only for a short time Electa.” she explained when the maid questioned her actions. “Just until the palace is less busy. I need to keep her close to me so I can keep an eye on her. Once all this has blown over, you may switch back and we shall decide what to do with her. I want no arguments, understand?”

The maid bowed and angrily yanked Maria away to change clothes.

* * *

 

When Rhea had said that the palace would be busy soon, she wasn't kidding. The maids were in a constant state of worry, always rushing to prepare things for guests. They scrubbed and cleaned furiously, often more tired than ever when the day ended. (Maria was happy to be rid of the job for a while.) 

Maria worked hard too, though not as much as the others. Her hands weren't left calloused and aching at the end of the day. Instead of cleaning constantly, she catered to the queen, helping her dress and get ready. She brought Queen Rhea her breakfast in the mornings and mended her clothing when necessary. 

Her job got considerably harder when the clothing she had to mend, was fancy beyond all means. The arrival of Hades’s future bride, brought extravagant parties and with that, brought fancy dresses that Maria found impossible to mend without help. (She was really beginning to regret not taking up her mother's offer to learn sewing.) But even she could manage a little. It wasn't the sewing that was the real problem, it was the son of the woman wearing the dresses.

Hades's temper had gotten worse the second his fiancée arrived. As much as he hated the idea of marrying someone he didn't know, apparently it was easier for him to deal with it when it wasn't happening. But now that it was, his annoyance was ever-present and constant. He was always looking for trouble, for ways to make himself seem undesirable to his bride. He behaved like a child, always grumpy and testing someone's limits. Maria would often hear Rhea chastising him for his actions, before Hades would storm out and yank her off to spend the day with him. Their time together seemed to increase the longer his fiancée was at the palace. Somedays, Maria would be gone the whole day thanks to him, and then be yelled at by the queen the second Hades let her leave.

His attitude does improve a bit when she is around though. His eyebrows aren't in a constant state of downturn, and he actually smiles. Maria begins to wonder if this is what Thanatos meant when he said that Hades was afraid to lose her. Hades seemed to be rather temperamental when he wasn't in her presence, and as soon as she was near, he instantly softened, a bit like a ferocious dog who is near their owner.

Maria was quick to remind him of this,  laughing when he whined like a toddler. 

“Don't patronize me please.” he pleaded. “It isn't my fault that I like your company. Better you than my stranger of a fiancée.”

“Do you hate her that much?”

“I don't hate her as a being.” Hades said quietly, like he was telling a secret. “I hate the idea of this. The woman herself is kind enough. But the fact that I hardly know more than her name. She's a stranger, and the fact that I have to spend the rest of my life with her is a tiring and irritating idea.”

“But she is kind. At least she isn't a wretch with no heart.”

“I guess. But she is not the one I chose.”

Maria rolled her eyes. “The one you chose is no longer in your grasp.”

“She is closer than you would think.”

Maria scoffed. “Where? We've looked and searched for her to no avail. We couldn't find her.”

Hades smirked. “No.  _ You  _ couldn't find her. I found her ages ago.” His smile vanished as his name was called, loud and fierce. And kind of angry. Rhea. 

“What?” Maria asked, chasing after Hades as he made his way back to the palace. “You found her? Where is she? I want to punch her for being so much trouble to find.”

“I'm afraid I cannot allow that.” Hades said playfully. “I would never allow you to hurt yourself.”

“I won't hurt myself, I...wait..”

Hades smiled at her boyishly, toying with the fabric of his clothes as he waited for her mind to catch up with his words.

Maria froze in place, trying to think of another answer that would make sense. Surely Hades hadn't been talking about her. After all the trouble she'd put him through to stay safe here? Why on Earth would he have chosen her? 

Though now that she really thought about it, it made sense, the pieces of the puzzle were slowly coming together. How quick he was to protect her when she wanted to help save Thanatos. How angry he was that she had chosen to venture into Hell with him. How he always watched her, even if she hadn't noticed. Thanatos’s warning about Hades wanting to tell her something, suddenly made much more sense. Even so, she still didn't want to believe it. But all the evidence was pointing to that one crucial fact.

“It's me.” she said, voice quiet and unsure. “It was me the whole time.”

Hades didn't say anything back, as they were getting close enough for Rhea to be able to hear their conversation. But the twinkle in his eye spoke volumes, gave Maria the answer.

Neither of them stopped smiling, even as Queen Rhea berated both of them for putting the events off schedule

* * *

 

Maria had seen many parties. As a child, she would sometimes go with her father on his trips and there would be parties like this one. She would have to dress nicely and behave like a good girl, but when she was home, her father had always rewarded her good behavior with sweets. Maria remembered the parties well. The elegant dresses, the decor, the smell of champagne and expensive perfumes. But never in her life had she seen a party this big.

Parties were usually small things, maybe fifty people at them. This was a full fledged ball. There were at least a few hundred demons gathered in the large room, golden decorations hung up around the room, shiny and sparkling. Food lined up on a table, delicacies piled high on plates, steaming and filling the room with delicious, savory smells. The food was strange looking, unlike anything Maria had ever seen, but it smelled amazing. 

There were demons all around, dressed in elegant, silken clothing. Some were draped in dresses and suits that looked like they were made of pure precious gems. Other looked to be made of pure light, clothing seeming to sparkle like stars.

Hades was dressed no differently, elegant in his dark clothing. His hair was wrapped around his head in intricate braids, gold braided into it, making his eyes all the more twinkly. His bride to be, was dressed similarly, dark clothing, gold braided into her hair. Even without the pretty clothing, she was beautiful. Her face was regal, yet childlike. Her cheeks were slightly chubby, her face free of blemishes and full of light. Even in personality, she was beautiful, smiling and polite.

But despite his seemingly perfect bride, Hades spent most of his time next to Maria. He was called away to speak to someone, but he was always by her side as soon as he wasn't needed. Maria could see his fiancée staring at them from time to time, gaze a bit bitter, and for a second, Maria felt a wave of guilt. Then Hades would do something and turn her attention back to him, and she would forget about it. 

The event passed quickly with the distraction of a demon prince muddling Maria's sense of time. Before either of them knew it, it was time to announce Hades's engagement. Maria had asked him what he planned to do, only to receive what was possibly the most cryptic answer she'd ever heard.

“You'll see.”

Maria wasn't sure she really wanted to see. She had a feeling that seeing this, would most likely make her want to drag Hades away by his ear and whack him with a broom, but she obliged and watched as Hades approached his parents by their thrones. 

The room quieted quickly, all eyes on the prince as he grinned away, much to happy for someone who was about to announce his engagement to a stranger.

“As all of you have probably heard and know, this is an engagement party.” Hades began. “That's why you've gathered here. To see a tradition continued and two souls united. But what you don't know, is who those souls belong to.”

Maria could see Rhea’s smile turn from genuine to faked, probably not expecting this kind of speech from her son.

“I have an announcement to make. I  _ will  _ be getting married. But not to who you might think.” Hades's eyes searched the crowd for a minute, his grin growing when his gaze met Maria's. “A very important person told me that traditions are meant to be broken. And so I've decided to break one myself.”

Hades turned toward his fiancée, smile turning sad. “I know you were probably looking forward to this. You were trained your whole life for this moment. But I hardly know you, and I don't think it's right to marry a stranger. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't want to marry you.”

There's a collective gasp in the room, the sound of every demon in the room making a sound of disbelief, mixed with a few coughs from someone who'd been drinking something. Only two, did not gasp, Maria, and Hades's fiancée.

“Oh thank goodness.” she sighed, looking relieved at Hades's news. “I thought I was the only one.”

“You don't want to marry me either?”

“Oh Lucifer no!” the bride quickly added, “Not that I think you wouldn't make a good husband, but I've only known you three days. And I hardly know your name. I don't want to marry a complete stranger!”

“But the tradition!” Rhea interrupted. “He's the crown prince, next in line for the throne! He needs a queen!”

“And I will have one.” Hades said calmly, and Maria got the feeling that she knew where this was going. (She really hoped that it wasn't going that way, but she kind of saw it coming.) “But I want to pick my own queen, not have one thrown on me.”

Rhea scoffed. “And who would you pick to be your bride? Who could possibly be a better choice than Persephone as your queen?” 

Hades glanced at his (ex) fiancée in question, and for a second, Maria could almost read his mind.  _ That's your name?  _ his raised eyebrows asked. Then he stared back at his mother, confident in way that gave Maria chills.

“Please don't do what I think you're about to do.” she muttered under her breath, swearing that she would really hit Hades in the head with a broom if he did what she suspected he was doing.

“I already have chosen my own bride, and she's here.”

Maria began to search for a broom. She was going to need one.

“Oh?” Rhea said mockingly. “Where is she then? I'd love to meet her.”

_ Don't you  _ **_dare_ ** _. _ Maria thought.

“Maria, could you come up here?” Hades called, and Maria cursed, even as she shuffled forward through the crowd and made her way to stand next to Hades.

Rhea glared her down, eyes practically glowing with fury. “Her?” she asked, in an attempt to remain calm, even though it was obvious that she wanted to snap and unleash suffering onto Maria. 

“Yes.” Hades said proudly, reminding Maria of her time in school when she brought a frog to class and showed it off to her classmates- most of them had either run or been disgusted. 

Rhea glanced between her son, and the crowd of demon guests waiting for an answer. She did this several times, eyes darting back and forth, before she finally sighed and turned to the crowd. 

“Well.” she started. “It would seem that minds have been made, and so I would like to call off the engagement of Hades and Persephone, and announce the engagement of Hades and-”

“Maria.” Maria said quietly.

“Yes.” Rhea sighed. “Maria. Let the festivities begin!”

Maria had a feeling it wasn't going to be so festive for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! I dunno if it looks like it, but this was a long chapter to write, even for me. But I did it, and we are one step closer fo the end of this prologue and getting to the actual story. If memory serves me correctly, there are only one- maybe two if I get lazy halfway- parts left to the prologue. Sorry this is taking so long, but we're getting there. As always, sorry for the delay, and as always, kudos and comments are loved and appreciated.


	6. Prologue  (Part Six)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I did it! We did it! The last prologue chapter! Man, I tell you, I damn near cried when I wrote this, this one's a bit of a tearjerker. Maybe not for you, but definitely for me.

 

“Have you lost whatever sense you might have had left in that head of yours?” the queen was furious, anger even more potent than that of her husband, the king. (He was angry as well, but had remained silent while his wife gave Maria and Hades the tongue lashing of a lifetime.)

Hades shrugged, seemingly used to getting lectures like this. “To be fair, there wasn't much sense in my head in the first place.”

“That is no excuse for what you did! Do you even know the danger you may have put us in? She's a human! If anyone were to discover that she wasn't a demon, we would be exiled!” Rhea hissed. “You understand that, right?”

“Of course.” Hades nodded. “We will be more than careful enough to make sure that no one finds out.”

The king finally spoke, standing from his seat and glaring at his son. “We?

“Thanatos is helping us be a bit more discreet.” Hades explained.

“Of course.” the king sighed, turning to Maria. “And what do you have to say for yourself?”

Maria gulped, glancing at Hades for a second. The words rushed out, quick and kind of airy. “I would just ask that you don't kill me.

Rhea scoffed. “Humans. You always think you're lives are in danger from us. We only kill you because you strike first. Demons are not unreasonable creatures, and my husband and I are not unreasonable rulers. We understand that this was not _your_ fault.” She put extra emphasis on the word _your_ , giving a pointed glare to her son. “Your life is not in danger, at least not from us.”

Maria tried to feel safe after hearing that. It didn't work. Even though she trusted that Rhea and Kronos wouldn't hurt her, she wasn't sure about the others. The guests that had come for the engagement party, had come to see Hades and _Persephone_ be wed, not Hades and Maria. No doubt they were angry about the newly broken tradition, used to things being the way they usually were. Maria tried not to notice the glares she received from some of them, though it was difficult to ignore the feeling of eyes trained on her back. But even though the guests were angry with them, Persephone was happy for them. She was satisfied now, much more content being free to go as she pleased than be stuck tied to someone she barely knew.

“I wish the both of you luck in your love.” she had smiled, warm and genuine, before she had taken her leave, with nothing more than a cloak on her back, a small dagger for protection and food.

And so they were married, Maria dressed in an elaborate wedding dress- colored black, much different from the usual white dresses that Maria was used to seeing- and Hades dressed the same. The ceremony was different from what Maria was used to. As a child, her mother had sometimes dragged her to her friend's weddings- emphasis on dragged because Maria always put up a fight- and this ceremony proceeded much differently. They still had rings to exchange- beautiful bands of silver and red and black materials, glowing faintly when they neared the other in the matching pair. But instead of the kiss, used to seal the union, they each drank a red, thick liquid from a goblet- Maria really hoped it wasn't blood. Instead of a preacher or minister overseeing the wedding, they were married in front of five small statues, which Maria was later told,  were the five ancestral demons of Hell, the ones who created the realm.

The reception was almost exactly the same as one of human standards, people dancing and eating and talking. Maria was ushered around the room to meet various demons, some friends of the royal family, others just incredibly nosy. Maria learned the names of many diplomats and other demons of importance, though she doubted she would remember their names for long. (She doubted she would remember anything of that night after the amount of wine that was poured down her throat )

Hades had torn her away from the party early, eager to leave the nosy crowd behind and get to just the two of them. He was adamant about not taking Maria until they were further away from the palace, at their honeymoon location- and she was less drunk. He refused to tell her where they were going though, much too smug about keeping it a secret. He simply guided her into bed to sleep, and said nothing more of it. 

* * *

 

When Maria woke up the next morning- or should she say afternoon, since it was much past morning according to Hades- she wasn't in the same bed she had been in when she fell asleep. She wasn't even in the same room.

She was dressed in a nightgown, silken an satiny, laying under soft covers colored white and gold. The room around her was airy, lighted and bright, and smelled a bit like a shore. She thought she could hear the sound of rushing water, could maybe smell food being cooked, and both thoughts had her hauling herself out of bed on shaky legs.

She found Hades sitting on a rock outside the room, looking down at something. She was seconds away from asking him shat he was looking at when he grabbed her arm and yanked her towards him.

“Oof!” she grunted as she landed in his lap, scowling as he chuckled. “What was that for?”

“Just making sure you don't fall off.”

“Fall off of what?”

Hades pointed down, past the rock's edge, and ket Maria creep up to look. A cliff. They were sitting on a rock, right next to a cliff. The cliff dropped off into water, which was flowing from a waterfall into a river- that explained the rushing water sound. It probably wouldn't kill her if she just so happened to slip off, but the thought that they were indeed by a cliff, was a bit unnerving to say the least.

“Oh.” she muttered, quietly, deciding to stay away from the edge from now on. No sense risking it.

“How are you feeling?” Hades asked, smiling, eyes warm.

Maria rubbed her forehead, feeling her skull throb a bit. “I feel like I shouldn't have drank all that wine.”

Hades laughed, hand coming to brush her hair behind her ear. “That would have been wise. Though I probably should have stopped you after that third glass.”

“Why didn't you?”

“I was too busy staring at you to notice. You know that when you get drunk, your cheeks light up?” Hades smirked mischievously. “It's like there's a red glow all over you. The most beautiful thing I've ever seen.”

“Shut up.” Maria mumbled.

Hades didn't shut up. “Besides. I figured that I'd rather have a whole day with just you and me, than have a few hours trying to keep you quiet.”

Maria raised an eyebrow. “Why would you need to keep me quiet?” She didn't miss the way his eyes lit up, like coals in a flame. He grinned devilishly- which was a little funny, considering the fact that he was a demon.

“I think you know why.”

Maria scoffed. “I bet you couldn't even make me whimper.”

Hades grinned even more wickedly.

A few hours later found Hades grinning smugly, and Maria throwing a pillowat him, trying to think of what to get him for winning the bet.

* * *

 

When Maria felt her body changing, she asked her husband about the possibility of her being pregnant. Hades had told her that although it was possible, it was mostly unlikely.

Of course, that didn't explain why Maria was having the symptoms of pregnancy. It started with the morning sickness. She would wake up in the middle of a good sleep to go puke out her guts, and even during the day, she would have to stop what she was doing to rush off and empty her stomach contents.  (Hades told his mother that it was simply a human thing, nothing more than a small little cold.) Then, came the fatigue. Maria was constantly tired, as well as hungry, almost as if she was eating for more than one person. (Again, Hades dismissed it as nothing problematic.) His excuses to his mother were increasingly less credible when Maria's stomach started to swell, the way only a pregnant woman's did. Soon, it became rather apparent that Maria was indeed with child.

The information was rather upsetting to Rhea, who raged about having not only harbor a human, but now half human children. Her husband was a bit more okay with the idea, since he knew that Hades would be more inclined to protect his wife and his children now. As Hades had said, the man was smart when it came to tactics, and dealing with Hades when he was in guard dog mode, was almost the same as fighting a war. Kronos was fine with the idea of grandchildren from Hades, saying that he was beginning to grow sick of all the grandchildren he was getting from his other sons. (“There are _so many_ of them.” he had mumbled once.) Rhea took a bit more convincing, but even she couldn't turn down Maria's offer of teaching her how to care for children- yet another thing that Maria neglected to learn, since she hadn't believed she would be having children.

The pregnancy was difficult, and not just because there was a person growing inside of Maria's stomach. She and Hades both struggled with the idea of the child's safety. Maria didn't know what would happen once the baby was born, and she didn't want to think about it. Unfortunately for her, she didn't have to.

How the others found out, Maria wasn't sure. Maybe Electa had grown tired of her, fed up of trying to help the queen hide her existence. Perhaps someone else had heard their concerned conversations and told. Maria didn't know. All she knew was that they knew about her, and that they would uphold the treaty. They were going to kill her and her baby.

Hades took her into hiding, somewhere far away from the palace, so that Maria could birth the child in peace. As it turned out, there was more than one child. Two, to be exact. Twins.

For a short while, Maria was happy. She had a family now. A husband, two beautiful children, and a bright looking future.

And then she was found.

* * *

 

She was sitting in the nursery, feeding the first baby- Bianca- when the loud knock sounded.

Immediately, she knows that it isn't Hades. Her husband- as awkward as it still was to think of him as such- never knocked. He had no need to, he lived with her. Maria thought for a second that maybe it was her mother in law. Rhea liked to scare Maria senseless with spir of the moment visits. But Rhea never really knocked either, and when she did, she knocked quietly.

“Who is it?” she asked, trying to think of a way out just in case. Hades had warned her about something like this happening, she had just figured that it wouldn't happen so _soon_.

“This is the captain of the the Hell’s Alliance Border Patrol. We have reason to suspect that there is a human being harbored here at this residence. Open up for questioning.”

Maria paled, glancing down at her daughter, the baby cooing quietly. Then she glanced at her son. _Nico_. He was sleeping soundly in his crib, so peaceful.

_It's fine._ She thinks, setting Bianca in her own crib. _They don't want the children. They want me. The children will be fine._

She keeps thinking this as she marches to the door with a brave face, yanking it open to reveal two large demons.

The one closest to Maria- probably the one who was knocking- takes a few sniffs of the air, blazing yellow eyes focusing on Maria in disgust. “It's you.”

“Yes.” Maria sighs, not surprised when the other demon gasps.

“But your the wife of-”

“Listen.” Maria interrupts him, not wanting to hear about her husband. That'll just make her decision all the more difficult. “I will come with you without a fight. But not until you agree to my terms.”

“And if we don't? The closer demon asks, brows raised.

Maria curses. She didn't have a plan for that. Oh well, improvisation cane in handy once in a while. “If you don't-” Maria starts, making her voice drop low and dangerous. “-I will make sure that in the wake of my death, my husband will unleash absolute Hell on you, and everyone you know.”

“We live in Hell. A little more won't hurt.”

“Have you ever seen my husband when he's angry?”

“No.”

Maria smiles, viciously. “Trust me when I tell you that you don't want to. Now are you going to listen to my demands?”

The two demons exchange looks, the smaller one shaking his head. The larger one sighs. “Yes.” he huffs. “We will hear them.”

Maria nods. “Number one. My husband and his family will recieve no grief for my humanity. The King and Queen had no clue of what I was, and my husband was afraid of what would happen should I be discovered. They shall have no consequences and no problems.” Maria isn't above lying to get results, especially when her new family is involved. She doesn't care that Rhea and Kronos already knee, she would protect them anyway.

“We agree.” the larger demon says after some deliberation. “Anything else?”

“Yes.” Maria says, taking a moment to glance back into her home at the two cribs, her children resting peacefully. She sighs regretfully. “I have two children. No harm will come to them. They will be treated as if they were normal demon children, and no one will be the wiser to their true nature.”

“Agreed.”

Maria takes one more look back, smiling sadly. _They'll be fine._ She thinks, holding out her hands and flinching at the biting cold of the shackles placed around her wrists. Hades would be coming home soon, probably tired after a long day of working at the palace with his parents. He would come home to a wife-less house, with no one there but his children. His wife would be gone, probably walking to her hanging just as Hades opened the front door.

Maria cried all the way to the hanging. She cried for her children, who would never know their mother, for her husband, who would cry for her. She cried for her mother, who had to give her daughter up, and she cried for her father, who would come home to greet his wife, but not his beloved daughter.

Maria cried, and cried and cried, even as she choked for air. But she felt no regrets.

 

The same could not be said for Hades, who came home to no wife, only children, and a letter from the HABP, telling of his wife's imminent death. Hades regretted, he mourned, and then, he became bitter. But he promised to care for his children.

“I swear it.” he sobbed as he looked down on both of them, sleeping soundly, unknowing of the tragedy that had just taken place around them. “I will protect you if it means my own life.” Hades's son opened his eyes, cooing at the sight of his father. _Nico_. Hades took his son's tiny hand, sobbing at how warm he was, just like his mother.

  
“I won't let anything happen to you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you cry? If ya did, I'm doin a good job. If not, I need to work harder. Anywho, let's get to the actual story shall we?


	7. Chapter One: Vessel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico can't quite remember when this became normal for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Two chapters in one week, and one more coming tomorrow. I'm on a roll guys! Can I get a hell yeah! (Pun intended, cuz this takes place in hell, lol)

Nico can't quite remember when this became normal for him.

Maybe it was on that first day of school when he was forced to play all alone because all of the other children refused to come anywhere near him. Maybe it was when he was thrown out of school for being a constant disruption to class- even though he hadn't done anything wrong at all. Maybe it was even when his father told him that he would be taught at home from then on because the others couldn't handle what he was.

All he knows is that since that day, his entire life has been put on a constant schedule. Every minute is preplanned for him, every second categorized into perfect slots of time. It's actually kind of comforting if he thinks about it. He never has to worry about being late because he's never late. He never oversleeps, or runs anywhere due to procrastination because it's impossible to procrastinate. It makes life so much easier. 

But at the same time, it makes life a lot harder. There are times when Nico forgets why he puts himself through this, keeps himself on this schedule. Times when he just wants to stare out at the clouds or watch the sky or spend just a few more seconds in bed, covered in warmth and comfort. He wants to be free like everyone else, to have the ability to choose to oversleep and be late.

Then the angry voice in his head scoffs about how freedom is idiotic, and Nico moves on.

The voice in his head doesn't actually belong to him. It's much deeper than his own voice, more angry and annoyed than he could ever hope to be. (Though he has been getting better as of late.) The voice belongs to the ancestral demon locked away next to his heart. Literally. He's just hanging there, suspended in a cage made of energy, next to Nico's heart, waiting for a chance to break out and wreak havoc.  

That's another reason why Nico stays on a schedule. Always being on time means never having to run, because running would make his heart beat faster, and every beat of his heart loosens the cage that holds the demon inside of him. Eventually the cage will break, as everything has to, but Nico has been told that it would be best to avoid making the process go any faster. 

Nico is a vessel. Someone who has the strength to physically harbor a caged ancestral demon within them. There are five main ancestral demons: Chaos, Death, Vengeance, Hatred, and Madness. (That's not their real names of course, just what their names translate to in the demon language. But their real names are a bit difficult to say, so these names are the next best option.) These demons are extremely powerful, with the ability to destroy half of Hell with the wave of a wrist- according to legend, it's been done before- but this was soon seen to be a major problem, as having Hell obliterated every time one of them moved the wrong way, was tiring and catastrophic. And so a solution was formed, and the Vessel program was commissioned. 

A child is chosen by his or her ability at birth. The powers they are born with usually coincide with the demon they are chosen to harbor- for instance, Hatred is extremely compatible with demons who have the gift of fire, as the emotion of hatred is usually one associated with a deadly flame. The Vessel program is responsible for keeping track of the birth of every demon child in Hell, and categorizes their powers, as well as their percentage of compatibility with certain demons. When a vessel dies, the newest born child with the most compatibility for the demon in question, is then selected. Then a ritual is performed to seal the demon inside the child before it awakens. 

Nico got his seal when he was three, when the last vessel for his demon collapsed in a pool of her own blood. The seal is located on his chest right next to his heart, where the cage is. Despite the meaning of the seal, and what hides behind it, the seal itself is rather beautiful. Large black wings curling around a fractured skull, a seal that is unique to him and him alone. The wings represent his name, di Angelo, showing that he holds the responsibility of keeping this demon locked away. The skull represents the particular demon that Nico holds, Death. 

Nico's never met the demon, never seen him in person, but he figures he knows enough about him to tell that he's not the nicest demon around. Death is almost always cranky for some reason or another. He complains when Nico wakes up in the morning, whines when Nico chooses healthy food over junk, damn near cries when Nico does his lessons. His voice is loud too, so it's impossible not to hear his insistent whining, especially when he's in Nico's head. 

Still, Nico can't remember when this became a normal thing for him. The first time he'd learned Death’s voice, he'd freaked out, hyperventilating until his dad calmed him down long enough to explain. His dad had called him a kind of hero. Said that he was one of few capable of keeping the monsters of Hell under wraps, that even if he didn't believe it, he was a savior. The kids in his class called him a freak. Now, he's more or less used to it. He's learned to stop stressing about the fearful glances casted his way, to ignore the hateful comments he hears when he ventures outside the four walls of his room. He's even found the splitting headaches to be just a normal thing now. On those days when Death is just angry about everything, dealing with the ginormous migraines is just like writing his name, simple and easy.

So easy in fact, that half the time, Nico agrees with him. If Nico's walking around the palace and hears one of the maids talking about the ‘scary demon prince’, he won't even object when Death calls her something horrid. The rants that Death sometimes goes on, usually reflect Nico's own thoughts, which probably isn't a good thing, but since he has no friends whatsoever, getting along with the very thing that's trying to kill him seems like a pretty big step up from where he was. Or, is, since his everlasting loneliness seems to be, well, everlasting. Nico can't remember the last time he spoke to a demon his own age. Can't remember the last time he had a conversation with anyone other than the members of his family and his tutor- who he figures don't count because they usually have no choice in the matter. Of course, his lack of social experience may be caused by the fact that he is of royal blood, and that alone makes him difficult to approach. Then there's the fact that he apparently has a very cruelly beautiful face, like someone who people want to get close to, but are too afraid to do so. According to one of his sisters, Hazel, he's kind of apathetic, not really having any emotions unless they're bad ones, so that could be a reason too. But Nico is pretty sure that his lack of friends stems from the fact that he is the very definition of a ticking time bomb. 

He's a grenade, his life a blast radius, and anyone who enters his life immediately becomes a target. When he finally keels over, he's going to bring a wave of destruction and death in his wake, and everyone who's close to him will be ruined with him. He knows that for a fact, which is why he tries his best to stay emotionless. Getting attached only means one more death added to toll when he inevitably blows up. But learning to not get attached can be a problem when every person is a potential friend in your head. 

Nico's not going to lie, behind his mask of apathy, he's a bit of an optimist. Being raised in a palace his whole life, you'd think that he'd a least be a little spoiled, maybe a bit of a brat, but being alone for most of his life has humbled him a little. Now, instead of seeing the worst in someone, he always looks for the best first, and takes the worst when they come along. He's learned from experience that judging a book by its cover usually ends up in disaster, so he does his best not to judge anyone until he knows them.

Which is why he really surprises himself when he judges his first friend with extreme negativity before he even knows the guy. In his defense though, being punched in the face isn't exactly the best first impression.

 

Maybe he should start over. 

His name is Nico di Angelo, he's two hundred and fifteen years old, and he's a demon. Being a demon wasn't really his choice though. If there was a ‘before birth’ choice menu, Nico would have clicked any other option. But as it is, he's a demon of Hell. He is also the crown prince of the kingdom of Inferos, a kingdom in one of the lower sectors of Hell. (He is also the  _ only  _ prince of Inferos. His dad had only had three kids, and two of them were girls.) He is also quite angry with his father at the moment.

Though that really isn't anything knew. Nico is usually angry with his father. It's one of the side effects of having a very dysfunctional family. But this time, it's for good reason.

When Nico had begged his father to let him go to school, this wasn't what he had meant. Nico had secretly put in admissions to several academies all across Hell, the farther away the better. All it had taken was some bargaining and a bit of begging to make his father agree to let him go. Hades had one condition: Nico had to go to the school that his father picked.

Nico had been alright with that. His father had to choose from one of the schools that Nico had already applied to. It was too late to make a new application. But somehow,  _ somehow _ , his father had pulled enough strings to not only make all the other schools ‘lose’ Nico's applications, but he also managed to get Nico into the academy closest to Inferos. That was exactly the opposite of what Nico wanted. He had hoped to be as far away from Inferos as he could. 

So it's not impossible to see why Nico is a little irritated. 

Not like he can do anything about it. (He can complain, but where is that going to get him? Back home, stuck with homeschooling.) So he toughs it up, and takes a couple steps into the courtyard. 

Elysium Academy is the top school in this part of Hell- at least his dad chose a good one- both in academics and sports. Nico hasn't heard much about it though. It was much too close to home for him to be interested in applying. But as he walks into the courtyard, he thinks that maybe,  _ maybe,  _ this might not be so horrible. 

The courtyard is beautiful. The pathway is made of some strange, gray bricks, a few of them charred by flames, but otherwise perfect. The pathway is wide, with poles on each side that have different color flames hanging from them in glass lanterns. (No, Nico realizes when the flame closest to him shifts from green to red. They aren't  _ different  _ colors. They're  _ changing  _ colors. Cool.) Between the poles, are bushes with bright purple flowers. Nico doesn't know what flower it is, but it's pretty. From the courtyard, the school looks huge, standing tall and casting a bit of a shadow over the front. There are flags hanging off the brick that the academy is made of, vines crawling up the bricks. Literally. The vines are moving, some of them making their way into open windows, only to be shooed back out by students of teachers, before crawling back up the building.  _ Yeah _ , Nico thinks to himself.  _ Maybe this won't be so bad. Maybe I'll actually like it here.  _

His burst of optimism is short lived though, because he can feel eyes on him, attaching themselves to his form. The more he looks around, he notices that practically everyone in the courtyard is glancing at him, or outright staring.

_ Great. _ He gripes.  _ My first day here and I already fucked up. _

He walks slowly, careful to control his breathing even though he really wants to hyperventilate. They couldn't possibly know what he is already. They haven't even met him. He just got here. Why do bad things always happen to him? When can he get a-

Nico's thoughts are interrupted by the realization that everyone isn't looking at him. They're looking  _ behind _ him. And then he hears it. A loud angry voice accompanied by loud steps getting closer to him. Naturally, Nico turns to see who's doing the shouting and why, only to get a fist to the face.

“Ha!” the guy- it's definitely a guy- says victoriously. “That's what you get for cheating off my test you asshat!”

The first thing Nico thinks is that his face really hurts. Like, a lot. (Death responds with a sarcastic “Oh not like you didn't just get punched in the face or anything.”) The second thing he thinks is this guy's an asshole. The third thing he thinks, as he gets up and does his best to control his temper, is that this asshole has really pretty eyes.

They're kind of green but also kind of blue, like they don't know which color they want to be more. They're also super intense, clashing amazingly well with his dark hair and tanned skin. He's tall and kind of lean, muscles evident even in the baggy blue shirt he's wearing. He's also looking pretty freaked out right about now.

“Holy shit!” he yells, frightened. “I am so sorry, I thought you were someone else!”

Nico sighs, rubbing his cheek and shaking his head. “It's fine.”

“I swear I thought you were someone else! Please don't be mad at me, I promise I'll make it up to you please!”

Nico rolls his eyes and starts walking away, trying to actually get somewhere and make some progress. He expects for the guy who punched him to just hang behind him, to leave him alone and go about his business. Instead, the guy follows him, falling into step beside him.

“What are you doing?” Nico asks him.

He shrugs. “Making it up to you.  Just tell me where you're going and I'll take you.”

“I told you it's fine.”

“Too late, I'm already helping you-” he makes a motion at Nico, and Nico tells him his name. “I'm Percy.” he says in answer.

Nico sighs again, mentally admitting that he would probably need some help getting where he needed to be. “Alright. I need to get to the ritual Room.” he says, looking at the paper in his hand. His father had given it to him before he left. It had instructions on where to go. “Apparently, I have to meet with my...guardian?” He looks at Percy for confirmation that he said that right.

Percy nods. “Oh yeah. Guardians are the guys who watch over the students here. Every student is some kind of royal or something, and no one wants a royal kid to go missing, so the guardians look after ‘em. I'm actually headed there too. Supposed to meet my charge there for the Link ritual.”

_ No. _ Nico thinks, because his luck cannot be that bad. It's almost the middle of the semester, so he's pretty much the only applicant. His luck can't  _ possibly  _ be that bad. Percy can't be his guardian. He punched him in the face. The  **face.** No way. His luck is not that horrible.

* * *

 

His luck is that horrible. 

He and Percy are the only ones at the Link ritual, which means that Percy is undoubtedly his guardian. Percy smiles shyly at him, and Nico groans, walking into the ritual room. 

The ritual room is dark, purple curtains hanging around, candles and incense making the room seem even darker with heady smoke.There's a man standing in the middle of the room, draped in robes and covered in tattoos. He turns to face them, pale green eyes boring into Nico's own, then Percy's. 

“You must be the newest applicant.” he says, voice thick and scratchy. “The headmistress told me of you. She wants the both of you to report to her office after this. And look at that. You've even saved me the trouble of looking for your guardian. How wonderful.” He glares at Percy, as if he's had trouble with him before, and Percy smiles again, waving nervously.

“Well.” the man sighs. “Come on then.”

“What is this?” Nico asks, taking in the smell of vanilla. 

The man smiled, turning his back to face a table full of funny looking liquids and substances. “This is where the Link ritual is conducted. I will explain in a second, just sit in those two chairs over there.”

He points to two chairs across the room that Nico hadn't noticed before,  and Nico follows Percy warily, sitting across from him. Percy's staring at him intently, strange green eyes piercing into Nico's. Nico does his best to not falter or fidget, but he does hope that the strange man across the room hurries up a bit. 

Nico gets his wish when the man makes his way towards them, holding out two vials of reddish liquid. Percy and Nico take them and Nico sniffs his, cringing away at the rancid smell.

“Yes, I'm afraid it does smell rather bad.” the man laughs at Nico's disgusted look. “Doesn't taste much better either. But it works, and that's all that matters.”

Nico sighs, sinking into his chair and listens to the man speak some more.

“Now your guardian already knows how this will work. It's been explained to him more than once so he has a bit of knowledge of this. Even so, I will explain it again.” The man gestures to the vials. “In those vials is a potion that will help get your Link started. I won't give all the details of how it works, but basically it lowers your mental guards and releases mental waves so the two of you can connect. The rest, is up to the two of you. After drinking the potion, you will both have to use your minds to find each other, through mental energy alone. Then you will be able to sift through each other's memories and experiences. You will be able to block each other from things that you don't want the other to see, but you will also have to show them something. There has to be a balance between the two of you, so try your best to make it work. Any questions?”

Both of them shake their heads, and the man stands back to oversee the ritual. Nico glances at Percy, and sighs again, raising his vial as if making a toast. “Here's to you being in my head.”

Percy grins. “And to you being in mine.”

They lift their vials to their lips, and drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys can expect the next chapter tomorrow. Can't make any promises for the chapter after that though.


	8. Chapter Two: Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh shit guys! (Pardon my language.) Two chapters, momma's on a roll! This one is a bit shorter than usual though. But now that I'm into the actual story, this is much easier to write, so be expecting updates asap- which basically means as soon as I get back to civilization because I'm going back off the grid for a while...still gonna do my best though!

Immediately, Nico's vision begins to swim, his blood rushing everywhere. He closes his eyes to stop the room from spinning, and his mind slows. 

It's like he's in some sort of dream. He feels kind of like he's floating, but he knows he isn't. Still, it feels like he is. He can feel something, someone poking at him, but he isn't quite sure who it is until he hears a voice. 

_ Nico? _

Nico looks around, searching. He knows that voice, he can feel it. But who's is it?

_ Nico. _

He doesn't know how long he lingers, looking for someone he doesnt know, before he turns to see Percy, wispy and ghostly,  but him all the same. He's smiling, kind and fond, like he's known Nico for years.

_ Found you.  _ He grins.  _ You weren't even looking for me were you? _

_ I got lost. _

Percy smiles.  _ Well I found you. Shall we start? _

Nico nods and Percy takes his hands. 

_ I'll go first.  _ He says, and then the memories start flowing. 

Nico doesn't even need to look for them, they come rushing at him. Memories that aren't his own, coursing through his brain. Nico sees it all. He sees every second of Percy's life in extreme fast forward but unbelievable clarity. He sees Percy's birth, his progression into speaking, his first steps, first words, first  _ everything.  _ Nico gets it all. He feels every emotion. The joy, sadness, anxiety, fear, everything. He gets to see Percy's mother, his friends, family, his village. Nothing but happy memories. 

Then everything comes crashing down. Nico sees Percy's village destroyed, a raging monster rising from ashes and killing. He sees Percy's mother, crying as she waves to him from the shore, no room for her on the evacuation boat. 

And then it cuts off, the connection not severed, but blocked. Right. The man had said that they could block whatever they wanted. Percy must've chosen to block Nico from that memory. 

The next thing Nico sees is Percy's first day at his own school, sees him learn to fight, to protect. Feels him get stronger, more determined. Then before he knows it, he sees himself. He's angry, but it's definitely him. He can feel Percy's fear from punching him, then his embarrassment, then another emotion. One that makes his stomach flip, before that memory is blocked too.

_ Your turn. _ Percy smiles, and Nico nods, trying to get himself to release his life to Percy.

It's surprisingly easy. He just has to find his first real memory, and let the rest flow from there. His life is considerably less happy than Percy's. He shows Percy his isolated childhood, his lack of friends, shows him his upbringing in the palace, his quarrels with his father, his wishes to be anything but what he was. When his memory gets to the moment when he finds out that he's a vessel, he blocks Percy off, keeps doing so in every memory that has Death in it. After all the rough patches, things clear up again, so the memories flow evenly again. Nico shows Percy his elation at finally being able to go to a real school, far away from home. He shows him his irritation at being forced to stay near home, his quick change of mind at the courtyard, his further irritation at being socked in the face- he does his best to block the thought that Percy's eyes are pretty, but it slips and he knows he'll catch crap for it later. Nico lets his guard slip down, feeling Percy's own mind twine with his, mending the two of them together. Now Nico can feel what Percy feels now, and the emotion surges through him, echoing back to Percy.

Calm. He's calm.

His eyes open slowly, like they do when he wakes up from sleeping, and he slouches in his chair, comfortable like never before.

_ That was nice. _ Percy's voice sounds in his head, making him frown a bit when Percy's mouth doesn't move. Then he settles down and echoes the thought back in agreement. 

“It would appear that the Link was successful.” the ritual man says, smiling at their drunken state. “How are you feeling?”

_ Great. _ Percy's voice sounds again, before he flushes and says it again out loud. “It does seem a bit difficult to speak out loud now.”

The man laughs. “Yes. That has been known to happen. It should pass by the time you get to the Headmistress’s office.”

He shoos them out, saying that he hopes they get along, and Nico echoes his thought about the man being rather strange to Percy, who laughs.

“By the way…” he starts. “..do you really think my eyes are pretty?” 

Nico curses in his head, and Percy laughs again.

* * *

 

Headmistress Hera smiles at them both when they arrive, asking for them to sit and letting them take their pick of snacks.

“I know the feeling of being hungry after the Link ritual. Eat all you like.” she smiles. 

They oblige, taking a few snacks and sitting down. Nico only grabs three, Percy grabs at least five.

“You know who I am?” she asks, sitting down and pulling her brown hair out of its bun, so it flows down her shoulders. 

“Of course.” Nico nods, glancing at Percy, who has his mouth stuffed with what appears to be a cookie. “You're the headmistress.”

“That's right.” Hera says, taking a snack for herself and taking a miniscule bite. “And as headmistress, I'm sure you can imagine that my job is difficult. Keeping up with so many high profile students. Managing their families to the best of my abilities. And you can imagine that my job gets all the more tiresome when someone with powers like yours comes to call.”

_ Powers?  _ Percy asks, voice echoing in Nico's mind.  _ What powers? _

_ I'll tell you later. _ Nico echoes back, and watches as Percy frowns. 

“Yes.” Nico sighs. “I know that me being here puts you in a difficult position.”

“Then you also know that your father personally called to ensure that you were given the care you needed.” 

Nico blinks. “I did not know that.”

Hera nods, somehow taking the last bite of her snack, even though she'd hardly been eating it. “He did. And I told him that I would let you know of what we would do. I checked with the board of directors, and while some of them did object at first, I convinced them. Would you like to hear what we decided?”

“Of course.” Nico nods.

“Alright.” Hera leans back into her chair. “We've decided to give you and your guardian a building of your own, on the east side of the campus. It's a bit far from the main campus, so you'll have to rise earlier to get to class, but to avoid any mishaps, we agreed that housing you there would be best. The building you'll be in, has a kitchen so if you ever wish to not go to the mess hall for dinner, you are free to stay and cook at home. We also decided that you will resume the same courses you took at home, which means that you will be several courses ahead of any peers your age. Is that okay?”

“Yes.” Nico says quickly, eager to get to his new housing. A whole building to himself- and Percy. How amazing. “All of it sounds wonderful.”

“Good.” Hera smiles. “Your guardian was already shown your living quarters, and I trust that he remembers the way there?” The question is directed at Percy, who has swallow around yet another cookie- how many has he had? 

“Yes.” Percy answers. “Mostly. I'm sure I can get us there.”

“Great.” Hera says. “You'll have a week to get used to one another before you'll be required to attend class. Let's make this a good year.”

“Of course.” Nico and Percy say at the same time, before they head out.

Nico follows Percy to their building- Percy losing his way several time along the way- his eyes starting to droop by the time they're in their respective rooms. He lets the quiet hum of Percy's voice in a his head lull him to sleep, only one thought piercing through the fog of his sleepy-ness.

_ Pretty eyes _


	9. Chapter Three: Echo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico didn't want a guardian. Not that he didn't need one, but he still viewed the experience as troublesome. He didn't think that having three minds in his brain would be pleasant. 
> 
> He is slowly being proved wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I think this update is actually sort of on time! Go me! Enjoy the chapter guys.

Having someone else in your head can grow to be a pain, and Nico knows from experience. Living with Death in his mind, always grumping about something or another or saying poisonous thoughts in his brain to torture him, has made him wary of anything having to do with shared minds. Hell, Nico had fought his father for hours about having a guardian. Who was he to tell Nico that he needs protection? Nico could damn well take care of himself if need be. Besides, he could barely deal with two in his head- himself and Death- he figured that three would be mental overkill. Then Nico remembered that while he does know how to protect himself, he doesn't know how to do much else. (Living in a palace for all of your life can make it easy to forget how other, regular people do things.) Having a guardian would ensure that he wouldn't starve to death- not that he would- or at least wouldn't have to suffer with surviving on some kind of fast food bullshit.

Still, Nico didn't want a guardian. Not that he didn't need one. Deep down, he knew his father was right. He could take care of himself in terms of protection, but everything else was free game for anyone that might want him dead. (Plus, he didn't really trust his self protection skills all that much either.) But Nico still viewed the experience as troublesome. He didn't think that having three minds in his brain would be pleasant at all.

For the most part, he was wrong. 

Having Percy in his brain is slowly turning out to be quite a blessing actually. For one thing, he's a great cook- as much as it seems like he might burn a house down if he touches a stove- and for the last three days, Nico has been waking up to the smell of home cooked food. And it's food he actually likes. Growing up in the palace, the food served wasn't particularly tasty to him, as gourmet as it was. Nico preferred to simple things. And Percy seemed to understand that. Either that or he was a freaking sight seer and could look into the future to see what Nico liked, because he always knows what Nico wants before Nico knows himself.

He'll wake up, get dressed and groggily start thinking about how he maybe wants some scrambled dragon eggs for breakfast, and when he gets to the kitchen, the scrambled dragon eggs are waiting for him, along with other delicious smelling side dishes, and a smiling guardian. 

Another thing about having Percy in his head is that Nico gats backlashes of his emotions. If Percy feels something, Nico usually ends up feeling the same within a couple seconds. That can become a bit troublesome, since Percy is an emotional person. (Nico started crying on day two of the week off, and rushed to find Percy watching a movie where the pet dies, bawling his eyes out. Nico had had to comfort him. It was a rather awkward experience.) 

But that being said, Nico hasn't encountered many problems with Percy at all. In fact, Percy is more than helpful. So when Nico wakes up on the fourth day of their week off, he expects no less. 

He wakes up to no food smells, and Percy staring down at him in confusion. He jerks across his bed, pressing himself against the wall for a second before he realizes that it is indeed Percy. Then he starts feeling worried. Why is he worried? Oh, wait no. Percy's worried, if the crease in his brow says anything. Why is Percy worried?

“Can I ask why you're staring at me in my sleep?”

Percy blinks owlishly. “I thought you might have been having a nightmare.”

Nico jerks again, this time a bit less noticeable. He hopes. The way that Percy's eyes flick towards the movement makes him think otherwise. He  _ had _ been having a little scary dream. Nothing he wasn't used to. Having Death in his head made it difficult to actually have good dreams, so most of the time, Nico did his best to have dreamless sleep. But when he didn't manage to shut down all the way, he must have let Death in, because that nightmare had come fast. Again, it was nothing that Nico wasn't used to. But Percy didn't know that, didn't know the truth. He just knew that he woke up panicked and scared from someone else's nightmare.

Nico nods, rubbing his eyes. “Yeah, I did. I'm sorry to say that I have them a lot. If I don't shut down completely when I go to sleep, I have nightmares .     I'm working on it though.” And by working on it, he means mentally threatening Death with any leverage he has.

Percy relaxes a bit, still kind of frowning. “If you have them so often, how do you still wake up so refreshed?” He gestures to Nico's ability to function despite having the piss scared out of him in his sleep. 

Nico shrugs. “I guess I'm kind of used to it. I mean, it's still scary, but I don't get tired from them anymore. I just power through it.”

“That's terrible.” Percy says.

“That's my life.” Nico deadpans. 

Nico stands, making his bed and bustling about to get dressed while Percy watches, curiosity coming off him in waves.

Nico hears the suggestion in his head before he hears it out loud, and he chokes a bit, whipping around to stare at Percy questioningly. Percy shrugs, and Nico sighs.

“I've never tried that.” he says. “I didn't have a lot of people around me who would be willing to try that. But I guess it could work.” Percy grins and Nico gets filled with this insane amount of satisfaction. “Don't get too happy though. I'll only allow it for one night. If it works, then we keep it up, if not it's never happening again.” Nico feels the elation settle into slight panic, before buzzing back to elation, as Percy calls out his agreement and heads downstairs to the kitchen to make breakfast. 

Nico washes slowly, letting the water flow over him. He feels relaxed, which is new for him, since he usually feels like he's harboring all the stress in the world. He's sure that sometime today, Death will find a way to ruin his good mood. He always does, so it isn't a question of if but when. But for now, Nico plans to enjoy it while he can. He hums in the shower, dressing in his lazy day clothes and heads downstairs. 

He finds Percy at the kitchen table, eating and humming the same song that Nico had been singing in the shower. He waves and smiles, grin growing a bit when Nico waves back, grabbing his plate and sitting down.

“I think we should go out.” Percy says, and Nico chokes on his bite.

“What?”

Percy flushes, realizing what he said. “No, no, not like that. I meant we should go and see the campus so that you don't get lost when you have to go back to class.”

“Oh.” Nico sighs, taking a breath to stable himself. He doesn't like the idea of going out on the campus yet. He doesn't like large crowds, or people in general. But he supposes that it would be beneficial to be able to get around without having to ask someone for directions. If there's anything Nico hates more than large crowds, it's talking to strangers in those large crowds. He would trust Percy with directions, but considering how long it took him to remember the way to their building, he figures he'd rather not leave that to chance.

Nico shrugs, shoving the last bite of food in his mouth. “Sure. Sounds good. I'm going to have to change though.”

Percy frowns at him, glancing at his clothing. “What's wrong with what you have on? “

Nico holds out his shirt, examining himself. He's wearing a pair of red sweats and a shirt that his sister Bianca had gotten for him. The shirt is too big, because Bianca got the size wrong, but Nico wears it anyway because it's comfortable. “I can't wear this out in public. These are practically pajamas.”

“But-” 

“I'm changing clothes, I'll be back in a minute.”

Nico smirks at Percy's mental irritation, deciding to hurry a bit. He's dressed and downstairs in a matter of minutes, Percy already standing by the door, looking impatient. 

“Come on.” he huffs, and Nico smirks again.

On the way out, Nico takes a look at the building they're staying in. He hadn't had the chance to see it the night before, too tired to look at it and definitely too tired to notice details. But now that he's awake and refreshed, he can see it in all its glory. The building is big- obviously, it's made to house more than just two. It also looks old, made a different material than the other buildings that Nico has seen around campus. But there are the same vines crawling up the building as the ones that Nico had seen before, moving so slow that it seems like they're not moving at all. Most of the building is covered with the vines, further correcting Nico's theory that this place hasn't been used in a while. There's a fence going around the side, probably a vibrant shade of red before, instead of the faded brownish tint it is now. A few of the windows are either cracked or completely gone, allowing some of the vines to start growing into them. There's a sign above the entrance door, worn and faded but still readable.

_ Tartarus Hall _

Nico saves that to memory so he'll know what to say in case someone asks him. Then he lets Percy lead him away from the dorm building. Slowly Nico starts seeing more people, demons rushing to either get to class or back to their dorms. The ones who apparently have the day off are sitting sitting in the grass or bustling about the courtyard. Percy yanks him to the right, a little bit away from the school and the scenery changes. Instead of excitable demons, the ones here are less loud. The pathway they're on is flanked by shops on both sides, colorful signs and even more colorful demons floating in and out of their doors. A little ways down the buildings melt away into carts and stands full of fresh looking food. 

“There's a market here?” Nico asks as he watches a girl pluck a fruit from a basket and ask a man behind a cart about it.

Percy nods. “Yep. The Headmistress thought it was a good idea for demons who weren't very social or didn't like the food in the mess hall. Everything in the market is grown local too. Guess she figured that she wanted everyone to be comfortable here.”

“How do you even buy anything here? I didn't bring any money with me?”

“You don't need money.” Percy says reaching into his pants pocket and digging for a bit before pulling his hand out, producing a small blue card. “We have these. These cards have credits on them. You get the credits based on how well you do in your classes, so if you want a lot of credits, you have to study. It encourages the students to learn. Not a perfect system, but it works. We use the same one at my school.”

Nico frowns. “You go to school?”

“Mmhmm.” Percy hums, eyeing something shiny in a shop window that looks suspiciously like a dagger. (We would they be selling daggers here?) “Brym Institute. It's the branch off school for Elysium. It's the school where guardians are trained, before they come here and get charges.”

“Wouldn't you kind of have to graduate before going out into the field?”

Percy shrugs. “Usually yeah. But I guess I was good enough for them to assign me early. I just have to finish a few martial arts classes and I'll be done.” 

Nico hums, walking slowly to try and take everything in. This place is  _ so _ much better than the palace. Admittedly, he'd hated the thought of being so close to home, so close to his father's influence and overbearing protection habits. But this is beginning to actually be a good thing.Everything here is so lively and colorful, a stark contrast to the dark and silent halls of the palace. Here, people acknowledge his presence, wave at him. They're friendly, instead of shutting him out like a firerat- those things are gross. Still, Nico doesn't want to get too comfortable. His secret needs to stay just that, a secret. He knows that if anyone here finds out that he's a vessel, he could be shut out again. So as pleasant as it is to be here, he can't let this get the best of him.

Of course, words are much easier said than the actions spoken, as Nico learns when Percy stops letting him stand still and starts pulling him into shops. When Nico complains about not having any credits- he hasn't been to any classes yet- Percy snorts and holds up his own card,  saying that Nico can go crazy because in terms of credits, Percy's kind of loaded. (Apparently he really is the top of his class.) Percy pulls him into clothes shops and candy stores- he buys a whole pack of caramel dipped serpent tails and doesn't share a single one- and buys them fresh food from the market to eat at home. Then they eat at a café, Percy insistent on making Nico try a blood cookie- not horrid, but nothing to salivate over. By the time they're done, it's getting dark again and Percy has run though half of his credits. 

They decide to head back- Nico decides- but they walk slow, watching the fires light up along the path. 

“This is nice.” Percy mutters, voice almost a whisper, as if he's sharing a secret.

Nico hums in agreement. “Yeah. Way better than home.”

“What was it like? Living in a palace. Being a prince. It sounds pretty awesome.”

Nico shakes his head. “Not really. Besides, you've seen my memories. You should know what it was like for me.”

“I want to hear you explain it. Put it into words for me.” Percy says.

“Percy-”

“C’mon.” Percy pleads. “Humor me here, it's too long a walk to just be silent. I'm trying to make conversation.”

“Fine.” Nico huffs, trying to think of a way to tell Percy about his life without depressing him. “Well for starters, it was quiet. Like, always. So quiet you could hear a pin drop. And kind of lonely. I didn't have a lot friends, just my sisters, and most of my time was taken up with learning how to rule the kingdom.”

“Did you have maids and stuff?”

“Plenty.” Nico nods. “They all stayed away from me though. I used to think it was because I kept making messes and they were mad at me, but I guess they were afraid of me. My sisters weren't though. They were one of the few good things about home. They always humored me, made sure I was happy, even for a little while.”

“What are your sisters like?”

Nico smiles at the thought of his sisters. “Well, I have two of them. Bianca and Hazel. Hazel is my half sister but I love them both. Bianca is kind of the definition of warrior princess. She's good at archery, sword fighting. She's smart, and kind of scary when she wants to be. Once, when she got mad, she made like, twelve skeletons just come crawling out of the ground. Hazel’s completely the opposite. She's smart too, and a great fighter. But she's really not all that scary. She's usually always happy about something, and she makes the  _ best _ cake ever.”

“What about your parents?”

Nico sighs. “My stepmother is great. Her name is Persephone, and she has this great big garden in the back of the palace. I'm not allowed in it, but I've seen it and it's really pretty. Persephone is nice when she wants to be, but just don't step on any of her flowers or she'll kill you. My dad is...he's difficult to handle. I know that my social awkwardness comes from somewhere, but he's super awkward. And kind of rude when he's mad. He has this way of being cold when he's trying to be nice that just throws me off. And he's really overprotective. We argue a lot, and sometimes I can't stand him. But I guess he's not so bad.”

“Your mom?” Percy asks timidly, as if he already knows the answer.

“I never knew her.” Nico says quietly. “Dad never talks about her, and when I ask where she is, he won't tell me. I think she might be dead but, to be honest, I'm too scared to find out.”

Percy nods, sending a mental  _ sorry _ into Nico's head, and Nico sighs.

“Enough about me. What about you?”

Percy shrugs. “Well for starters I'm not actually a demon. I'm a nymph.”

Nico chokes on a chuckle. “You're a nymph?”

“Yep.”

“Aren't nymphs usually girls though?”

“Nymphs are a race, not a gender. But technically, I was kind of one of the only male nymphs in my entire village so yeah.” Percy runs the back of his neck. “It wasn't weird though. I was treated like everyone else. In fact, for the longest time, I think most of my village thought I was a girl. It wasn't until I hit a hundred that they started to figure it out.”

Nico raises his his eyebrows. “So you're telling me that until you looked like a girl until you were one hundred?”

“Yes.” Percy rolls his eyes. “That's when I got my powers, so I started filling out.”

“What are your powers?”

“Thalassokinesis and hydrokinesis.”

“Thala- who and hydro- what now?”

“Basically I can control water.” Percy smiles. “I also am incapable of drowning, and have the ability to speak to anything that lives underwater. I have a friend who's a water serpent. What about you?”

Nico shrugs. “Shadow manipulation, spirit manipulation and shadow travel. I can also raise the dead, like my sister, but that's only when I'm either really, really angry or practically on the verge of death.”

“Dude.” Percy says, grinning like a madman. “You said that like those were some normal powers. Those are badass powers. I would  _ kill _ to be able to shadow travel. Sure, Eustace the Serpent is awesome, but being able to go anywhere on will with just a couple of shadows? Badass.”

Nico shrugs again. “Not as cool as you'd think. As great as they may sound, my powers drain the hell out of me. I can only do a skill so many times before I either pass out or, other unpleasant things start to happen.”

“Like what?”

‘You...really don't wanna know.”

The conversation ends there, since they're approaching their dorm building. Tartarus Hall looks kind of pitiful. Nico makes a mental reminder to ask Headmistress Hear about fixing it up a bit.

Percy offers to cook dinner, using the food they bought at the market, and Nico isn't one to pass up food. He smells roasted souls- something that he had unconsciously had a hankering for- and sighs happily. Percy calls him to eat, and Nico nearly trips over himself to get to the table- did he mention that Percy is a  _ really _ good cook? Because he is. Percy laughs at him, and sits across from him to eat.

Eating with Percy is odd. Not bad odd, but the kind of odd that's pleasantly unusual. Nico is used to eating dinner in complete silence- or heated arguments between him and his father. Sometimes he ate alone, with only the company of Death’s patronizing voice in his head. So needless to say, having a pleasant dining experience was quite a change from Nico's usual routine. Not unwelcome, he realizes when Percy chokes on piece of soul. Nico snorts and chuckles, happy to be a part of Percy's antics.

He doesn't mean to project his emotion into Percy, it just happens. But he gets a little smile from Percy in return, happiness bouncing right back off the both of them.

Percy cleans up, letting Nico run off and get dressed for bed. Then, he meets Nico in his room, leaning against the doorframe with a smirk. “You all done Your Highness?”

Nico frowns. “Your Highness?”

“It's technically what I'm supposed to call you. I could always call you Master instead. Or Your Grace, or Your Majesty. Even My Liege if you'd prefer.”

“Can't you just call me by my name?” Nico suggests. “You didn't seem to have any trouble doing it before.” 

Percy shrugs. “I forgot myself. But if you wish for me to call you by name, I will.”

Nico smiles. “I'd appreciate it. Lucifer knows I've had enough of all that ‘Your Highness’ crap. I just want to be normal for once.”

“Why be normal when you could be a prince?”

“And why be a prince when you could be free.” Nico plops into bed, spreading his hands over the blanket. “Being royal isn't all it's cracked up to be. At least not in my experience. I couldn't do anything without being ridiculed for it. Couldn't go anywhere without someone trying to watch over me. It was stifling.”

Percy sat beside him. “But you get to live in a castle.”

“Palace.” Nico corrected him. “And that's not so great either. I lived there and I got lost sometimes. All those rooms, and halls, confusing.” Nico shakes his head. “I like it much better here. Freedom in spades.” He stretches and leans back, hands behind his head. Percy watches him, brows raised.

“I can actually sleep in for once.” Nico sighs, content to fall asleep right now.

Percy has other ideas, poking him until he groans and agrees to actually get under the covers. “Do you think this'll work?” He asks, once he turns the lights out and crawls in next to Nico.

Nico shrugs. “Dunno. Never tried it. Just fought through them and hoped for the best. It might work. I'm going to have to get used to sleeping next to someone.”

“Yeah, just so you know, I've been told that I snore.”

Nico sighs

* * *

 

When Percy wakes up, it's in a cold panic, sweat dampening his forehead. He doesn't have to feel his chest to feel how fast his heart is beating. He can  _ hear _ it, pounding in his ears like a drum. 

He takes a couple seconds to get a hold of himself, breathing deep and slow before he throws the covers off and puts his feet on the floor. His charge is still sleeping behind him, though Percy knows that he probably saw his nightmare. No doubt he's going to ask questions, especially after he puts two and two together and figures out that the nightmare is from the memory that Percy blocked from him during the Link ritual. Percy wonders how he's even still sleeping. That dream always scares Percy awake, even screaming awake at times. The fact that Nico can seem to stand it and even sleep soundly through it, just makes Percy like him a little more. 

He wants to stay in bed for a little while longer, maybe try to fall back asleep. He knows he's going to need all the rest he can get. Between helping Nico through his classes and getting through his own, Percy's probably going to be dealing with a few all-nighters while the both of them catch up with their work. But he doesn't think sleep will come to him that easy, and if it does come, it won't be pleasant. Better to just wake up and get to cleaning things up.

He'd already planned to clean up the dorm building ever since the headmistress had shown it to him. Tartarus Hall was old and kind of decrepit looking, like it hadn't been used in ages- it hadn't been, according to the headmistress. The vines growing into the windows are troublesome, and Percy will no doubt need to get rid of them. He'll also probably need to dust and sweep and mop and straighten everything up. It'll be a lot of work, and it'll probably take all day. Best he start now, if he wants to finish today. Sleep can wait.

By the time Nico awakes, Percy has finished about half of the first floor- there are about four, each with about eight dorm rooms- and has started to make breakfast. He feels Nico wake up, feels his unconsciousness stir into alertness, then slight confusion before melting into satisfaction. He feels Nico's hunger begin to stir, and is glad that he started breakfast when he did. 

Nico comes downstairs silently, staring hungrily at the food being set on the table. He sits down eagerly, setting to dig in, before he stops, eyebrow quirking. “How long have you been up?”

Percy shrugs, chewing his own food thoughtfully. “A few hours at the most. Why?”

“You're dirty.” Nico points at his clothes, and Percy looks at himself. He  _ is _ pretty dirty, shirt practically covered in dust and dirt. His pants aren't faring any better, liquid from those stupid vines all over them- those damn things fight, apparently. Percy sends Nico an apologetic smile, stuffing more food in his mouth when Nico just sighs.

“What have you been doing anyway?”

“Couldn't sleep, so I decided to get a head start on cleaning up the dorms. Figured if we're going to be living here, we might as well make it look presentable.” Percy stands, taking Nico's plate- for a polite and proper prince, he sure can put it away when he wants to- and put both of them in the sink to wash later.

“What was keeping you from sleeping?” Nico asks, innocent enough to sound completely not innocent. He knows, Percy knows he does. There's no way he couldn't. He is kind of linked into Percy's brain, and if Percy could see his nightmare, then Nico can undoubtedly see his own. Percy sighs, leaning against the wall, content to stare at the ground.

“It was nothing.” he lies, hoping that for his sake, Nico buys it.

Nico does nothing of the sort, choosing to look almost sad. “I saw it Percy. Your village. Your mother-”

“I don't want to talk about it.” Percy cuts him off, trying exit the conversation before he starts telling his whole life story. He has other things he could be doing right now instead of crying about his past.

Nico tries again. “But-”

“I said, I don't want to talk about it.” Percy bites, raising his voice a bit so he makes himself clear. He peels away from the wall, heading toward the stairs to get back to cleaning. He refuses to talk about this. 

“I get it, you know.” Nico says quietly, like it's a secret. “You probably don't think I do, but, I do.”

“How could you possibly know how it feels. You grew up in a castle.” Percy frowns. 

“Palace.” Nico corrects him. “And just because I grew up a prince doesn't mean that my life was free of... them.” Percy is glad he didn't say the V-word. He hates that word. “You don't need to understand, and to be honest, I don't want you to know how I know what you feel. I'm probably going to have to tell you eventually, but for now, just know that for whatever reason, I get it, okay?” 

Percy nods, apologizing briefly for getting angry, and then excuses himself to finish up the rest of the building. He almost finishes the first floor when curiosity starts digging at him, and he has half a mind to start wondering how Nico could  _ possibly _ know his pain.

_ What happened to you? _ He thinks.

The emotional echo he receives after, is sad beyond imagination

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From now until the end of summer, I'll be posting chapters on Thursdays. Once fall starts up again, I'll probably stick to the same schedule but for now, it's Thursday.


	10. Chapter Four: Drift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, this is a long chapter. Anyway, I'm going to be using a lot different types of demons, some well known, others less so. I want the realm of Hell to be just as diverse as the world we live in, so some of these types might be a bit strange or unheard of. So in an effort to not leave you guys confused af, I've opted to put the definitions of each demon that's introduced at the end of each chapter. Other than that, everything should continue as normal. Expect another update next Thursday- because my scheduling is no longer shit- and feel free to spam those comments and kudos. They're appreciated!

Nico's first day of class, begins with a pillow whomping him in the face. He sputters awake to the sound of soft laughter and racing feet, and spends ten minutes chasing Percy around with a pillow trying to get revenge- he doesn't get it.

Percy is already dressed, leaving Nico to have to rush to dress himself and eat, before both of them are racing out the door. They fit into the flow of student traffic easily, Death starting to whine about being up so early, before Nico hushes him with the promise of more food later if he behaves and keeps quiet. (He really needs to work on blocking Percy out of his head when Death decides to throw his tantrums, the last thing he wants is for Percy to look at him like some kind of monster.) 

Class starts with a bit of nervous ease, Nico having to introduce himself and then awkwardly taking the table in the back of the room. Percy sits beside him, looking as calm and bored as the other guardians who are sitting next to their charges. The teacher quickly launches into the lesson, complicated formulas and problems making Nico's brain fuzz out way too quickly. 

He hasn't learned any of this. Being homeschooled has some disadvantages, and going to a real school and figuring out that you really don't know much of anything, is one of them. Nico starts feeling a bunch of emotions at once. Worry over not knowing anything the teacher is talking about. Irritation and anger at his former tutor for not teaching him this. Panic, because what if this is one of the few things he might need later on in life and he doesn't know how to do it? Hopelessness at being a failure, and finally acceptance of the fact that's he's probably going to flunk this class.

_ Knock it off, would you? _ Percy's voice sounds in his head, quiet, only slightly irritated and a bit amused. There's some worry in there too, but Nico doesn't focus on that.   _ You and your momentary changes in emotions are starting to give me a bit of a headache. _

Nico feels it too, the dull ache in his skull.

_ Stop overthinking things. _ Percy echoes.  _ It's not your fault you didn't learn this, I'm sure you will. No, you're not going to fail this class and I doubt you're actually going to need this later in life. You're not a failure so quit telling yourself that and pay attention.  _

The last bit about paying attention comes at the exact moment that Nico realizes that he's closed his eyes and that his teacher is standing in front of him, arms crossed and looking amused. “Care to answer the question, Mr. di Angelo?”

Nico stutters a bit and to his horror, the rest of the class laughs. He hangs his head to hide from their smiles, as his teacher tells him that it would be wise to avoid having conversations with his guardian during class.

The same thing happens all day, in all of his classes- minus the embarrassing Percy thing. Nico learns his lesson quickly and makes Percy leave him be until lunch. They eat in the mess hall, Percy grabbing everything to eat while Nico just takes two. They sit in the back of the mess hall, choosing to converse mentally instead of talking aloud. Nico is slowly realizing that Percy was right when he said that speaking aloud is getting to be difficult. He finds that even after such a short amount of time, he prefers to speak to Percy in his mind instead of out loud. Makes it much more personal, he thinks.

It becomes considerably less personal when a stranger sits down in front of them, smiling and giving Percy a fist bump. “Jackson! Where you been?” he says, smiling. He looks tall, like Percy, blond hair and blue eyes, both of them kind of sparkling. There's a faint scar on his lip, making his smile look kind of crooked, but it's obvious that he and Percy are friends.

Percy grins. “I got a week off to get used to the Link. Today's my first day back.”

The stranger glances at Nico, blue eyes questioning. He gestures to Nico with his spoon. “This him? This is your charge?”

Percy nods, grabbing Nico by the shoulder and pressing the two of them close. “Yep. His name is Nico. Nico, Jason. Jason, Nico.” Nico says hello, quickly going back to his food and doing his best not to notice how his shoulder seems a little warmer now. 

Jason chuckles. “He's quiet. Nothing like my charge. Leo's always so loud, like a small child.”

“Who are you calling a child?” Another voice asks, another stranger sitting across from them. This boy is a little smaller, with curly, brown hair and a bit of a wicked grin. His amber colored eyes are glowing a little, as is his skin, as if he's being lit up from the inside by a flame. He seems slightly familiar, like an old friend, but Nico tries not to dwell on that too much. “And you were supposed to wait for me, Grace.”

“You.” Jason smirks. “And you didn't have any trouble finding me.”

“Not the point Grace.” the boy says.

“It's  _ a _ point, Valdez.” Jason grins.

“Hey.” Percy interrupts them. “You two can quit flirting at any time.” He raises his eyebrows playfully, grinning when Jason's cheek turn slightly pink. 

“We are not flirting.”

“Says you.” Percy says. “Anyone with eyes can see that you like each other. Just go out already.”

“It isn't like that.” Jason says defensively, cheeks still flaming. “Right Leo?”

Leo doesn't respond, eyes locked onto Nico's, both of them staring each other down intently. Nico  _ knows _ that he knows this boy, this Leo. He just doesn't know how he knows him. But those eyes look so familiar, it's so frustrating. Nico can feel Percy glancing at him, probably catching the backlash of Nico's confused frustration. Nico reassures him, or at least he tries to, because Percy still looks a bit troubled. 

He doesn't say anything though, to Nico's thanks. Nico stays quiet for the rest of lunch, letting Percy and his friends talk while he tries to figure out how he knows Leo.

The rest of the school day goes smooth, once Nico gets the hang of having to speak in front of the whole class- why do teachers feel the need to make him introduce himself? Nico gets his assignments- and a few extra days to complete them since he missed the week- and he and Percy head out. Percy leads them towards an area that Nico has never been and when Nico asks where they're going, Percy just shrugs.

“I have classes today, so I figured I'd bring you with me.”

Nico blinks. “You go to Brym right?”

“Brym Institute, yeah.”

Percy leads them to what looks a lot like a train station. There are assorted demons walking about, getting on and off, most of them wearing the uniform of Elysium Academy, others wearing the insignia of Brym Institute. The two of them blend in perfectly, to Nico's thanks. He's had just about enough of being the odd one out for one day. Percy pulls him along, using his card to pay for two tickets and then racing to find seats on the train before it pulls off. Nico manages to get a seat across from Percy, and Percy has to fight a scrawny Nickar for his spot. 

They sit in silence for the most part, though Nico can hear Percy start to hum some tune as they get closer. As they near the school, Nico sees a bunch of students start to stand, looking out the windows in awe. He looks at Percy, who nods toward the window with a smile. Nico stands to look as well, jaw nearly dropping at the sight of the Institute. 

Nico almost feels kind of jealous. Percy's school looks bigger than his own, a bit newer, with way less crawly vines. There's a spire rising up behind the school, glowing faintly. Nico can see students milling into the school, dressed in various colors of black, white and gray. Some of them are carrying weapons, others carrying books. There are students from his own school too, probably with their own guardians. 

“Pretty cool huh?” Percy's voice says, breathing down Nico's ear with a satisfied smile. 

Nico flinches, at Percy's close proximity, narrowing his eyes when his guardian chuckles and apologies before stepping back a bit. “Yeah.” Nico sighs, once Percy has moved from behind him to beside him, looking out the window as well. “It's huge.”

“That's because there's a lot of us. There are guardians from all over Hell, way more than there are royals. There are guardians who  _ are  _ royals.”

“Really?” Nico asks. 

Percy nods. “Uh huh. Remember Jason?” Nico nods. “He and his sister are both guardians, but neither of them wanted to be protected, so they became guardians instead.”

The train stops and demons start filing out. Percy leads Nico off the train, having to pull him because Nico's too busy thinking about whether or not he could become a guardian. He doesn't pay attention on the way to Percy's classes, too interested in looking around at the other classrooms. If you could even call them that. When Nico thinks of classrooms, he thinks of desks and a board. Not a class full of highly trained demon kids flying through the air or running at each other with weapons.

“Where are we?” he asks, after he watches a female Kappa knock an incubus to the ground. 

Percy's still dragging him on, grip tight on his wrist because he doesn't trust Nico not to stop and gawk at everything. “The Hall of Arts.”

Nico frowns. “Arts? All I see is a bunch of kids trying to beat each other to death.”

“Death can be an art form if done correctly. In many places, it is. Death isn't about the destination but the  _ journey.  _ How you kill someone is more important than where you did it or where they go when they die. Here we learn that art form and utilize it to protect.” Percy has let go of his wrist, standing in front of a silver door. Nico can see students standing about inside, can see even more when the door opens. 

Percy gestures to the seats placed around the other side of the room in a semicircle, where there are other royals sitting and talking. “You can sit over there if you'd like. I have to go change clothes for class.”

He's gone then, leaving Nico to awkwardly shuffle to the furthest chair in the back while he waits for Percy to come back out. He's just getting mildly comfortable when he feels someone plop down in the chair next to him. One look reveals a girl with brown hair and eyes that seem to change color. Her hair is short, falling to her shoulders with feathers braided into it. She smiles. A second look makes Nico realize that another girl has sat down in front of him, this one with blonde hair and startling gray eyes, almost silver in their intensity. Her hair has a few braids in it too, though she's a little busy picking at them in distaste. 

“Hi.” the brown haired girl says cheerfully. “I'm Piper.” Her eyes shift from their kaleidoscope like color to purple, Nico's favorite color. “It's nice to meet you.”

Nico blinks. “You're a siren.” he says, dazed.

Piper begins to pout a bit. “Dang it, not again. Am I really that transparent? Why does everyone immediately know that?”

The blonde girl snorts. “It's a little hard not to notice how your eyes change color like that. Telltale sign of a siren.”

Piper groans. “Ugh! I  _ hate _ it when they do that. Can't even have a proper conversation without the other person trying to kiss me. It's annoying.”

The blonde girl snorts again, still picking at her hair, though in another braid. “Sorry for my friend's general loudness.” she smiles apologetically. “Piper has decided to be a bit more peppy than usual. It should wear off soon. My name is Annabeth.”

Nico introduces himself and Piper starts in on him, asking where he's from, what he's excited about, his favorite food. Nico answers all the questions fluidly, at least until he spots Percy stretching and nearly chokes. 

His guardian has changed out of the clothes he had on earlier, instead wearing black clothes that are nearly skin tight. His shirt shows off his chest just enough that it makes Nico's own chest ache a bit. And it should probably be illegal for his pants to be as tight as they are, and yet, they are. Percy's stretching his arm over his head when he notices Nico's gaze and waves with a smile. Nico waves back, catching the attention of Annabeth, who glances back and forth between them.

“You got a thing for Percy?”

“What? No!” Nico hisses. “He's my guardian.”

Annabeth and Piper exchange a look, before Piper frowns. “You're the one who said his eyes were pretty?”

Nico hates that he can feel his face heating up. “How do you know about that?”

Annabeth answers. “He and I are friends. He told me and I told Piper. Don't worry though. He seemed pretty happy about it.”

Nico rolls his eyes, choosing to watch Percy and the rest of his class meander over to a weapons stand, instead of answering. Percy grabs a golden sword and gives it a few test swings before deciding that it's good and going back to the center of the room while their instructor enters. Their instructor is a blonde as well, sandy hair looking long enough to be at his shoulders, put pulled into a ponytail. His smile seems pleasant, but the scar going over his face makes him look just a bit menacing. 

“That's Luke Castellan.” Piper whispers, because the room has become quiet in the presence of the instructor. “He's pretty badass.”

“I can see that.” Nico whispers back when Luke launches into a series of complicated movements that look too difficult to repeat. But the class does so with ease. Luke leads them through a few more movements, each a bit more complex than the last, and each replicated by every student, easily. Luke then tells the class to pair up and get in lines to spar. Each pair fights quickly, a bit too quick for Nico to catch every motion. Luke however, does, walking around each pair slowly and yelling out errors as well as how to fix them. Before Nico notices it, Percy and his sparring partner- a demoness- are up. At Luke’s signal, the two of them are launching at each other's bodies. Once again, their movements are too fast for Nico to catch. But as soon as his mind becomes frustrated that he can't focus on anything, he suddenly can, though it isn't from his own view. Somehow he is looking through Percy's eyes, seeing the demoness and moving accordingly to block her. He feels the rush flowing through Percy, the excitement of battle and the thrill of getting the upper hand. He feels Percy take the demoness to the ground more than he sees it, feels Percy hold his blade to the girl's throat and sighing the word ‘dead’.

Then, suddenly, Nico is back in his own body, being worriedly shaken by Piper, her face concerned. “Hey.” she says, as she pays his cheeks. “You okay there?”

“Yeah.” Nico says shakily. “I think so.”

“What happened?”

Nico shrugs. “I dunno. I was just frustrated that I couldn't really focus on anything that was going on and then it was like I was Percy. I could see what he saw, and feel what he felt…”

“You had a Link Drift.” Annabeth says quietly, sounding shocked, hands finally out of her hair. Her gaze is settled on Nico, scrutinizing him intently.

“A what?” Nico frowns, while Piper gasps a bit and looks shocked herself. 

“Link Drift.” Annabeth repeats the term. “It's one of the side effects of a Link. Sometimes when one or both of the linked individuals experience an extreme emotion, the less affected individual begins to drift into their partner's mind, literally being able to see out of their partner's eyes. For some, it happens often, others rarely or not at all. But I've heard that when it happens, it's intense.”

“Was it?” Piper asks. “Was it intense?”

Nico shrugs, thinking about how fast his blood had been flowing, how he had felt Percy's adrenaline surging through him as if he were Percy himself. “Kind of. I could see her coming at him, and I could feel him move like I was him. If anything it was surreal.”

“Cool.” Piper sighs. “I've always kind of wanted to do that. Link Drifting. Sounds fun.”

“It is until something goes wrong.” Annabeth says grimly. 

Nico frowns. “What do you mean?”

“I was reading about it a few years ago, and apparently a few royals were kidnapped a couple hundred years ago. The guardian program was just being put into commission so the royals and their guardians weren't quite used to it yet. But when the royals were kidnapped, they were put through pain, and their emotions were so intense. So much sadness, anger at being taken, hopelessness at never being set free. Their guardians were out through Hell. They could everything, every lash of pain, every spike of anger, so intense it nearly drove them mad.” Nico gulped as Annabeth continued. “The Link Drift can be a good thing for both participants. It can make the bond stronger, the Link more sustainable. But if either of the two should come to any harm...the emotional strain…”

“I can't even imagine…” Piper whispers.

Nico stares down at his hands, gathered in his lap. They clench in the fabric of his pants as he steadies his breathing. It's an exercise that he's learned to keep his heart rate down- because the faster his heart beats, the more the cage beside his heart shakes. Of course the action proves to be null and void when Percy startles him.

“What’cha talking about?” he asks, plopping in the chair next to Annabeth, and grinning when she remarks that he smells like sweat.

“Link Drifting.” she replies, to which Percy frowns.

“What's that?”

Annabeth lets Nico explain what happened while Percy was fighting, and Percy nods.

“I thought I felt something weird. That's why I hurried up and finished the sparring match.” He looks at Nico curiously. “Did you know that that was a thing?”

“Obviously not.” Nico gripes, managing to calm his heart rate- again. “Otherwise, I would have been prepared to see a blade coming at my face.”

Percy laughs, wiping sweat off his face and slyly dusting his sweaty hand on Annabeth’s shoulder. She punches him for it, and he winces. “Yeah. Ka’Rai has always been a little too spirited when it comes to sparring. We both get way too into it and it usually ends with injuries. You showed up on a lucky day, no one was sent to the infirmary today.”

Nico briefly wonders what kind of school lets their students near actual weapons, let alone let them use them on each other, and Percy shakes his head with a smirk, ushering him to stand and follow him out. 

He has two more classes to attend today, as do Annabeth and Piper's guardians, so the four of them agree to walk together. 

“Won't your guardians be worried that you just left?” Nico asks the two girls in their way to the next class. 

Piper shrugs and Annabeth just blinks. Piper answers proudly. “They know we can take care of ourselves if need be, besides, they know where we are thanks to the Link.”

“Oh.” Nico deadpans, not sure what to say to that, because it seems like the most logical answer. He doesn't have to try for more awkward conversation though, because the door to Percy's second class opens and they nearly get their heads blown off by a wall of flame. Percy yanks Nico behind him, shielding him from most of the fire, but Nico can still feel the heat singe the tips of his uniform sleeves. Nico sighs, seriously getting irritated at how often he has to calm his heart beat down, before he chokes on a gasp at the sight of what appears to be a dragon.

“Frank!” Percy yells, way too happy for someone who almost got burnt to a crisp by a dragon. A dragon named Frank, apparently. Nico is starting to guess that Percy named this dragon, after all he did name his leviathan friend Eustace. “It's great that you finally mastered the dragon thing but watch where you fire that shit. Almost turned me to ash.”

The dragon looks almost apologetic, claws starting to shrink, tail disappearing. Slitted yellow eyes become a warm brown and the sleek angular, scaly face becomes kind of pudgy. 

_ Finally. _ Nico thinks, exasperated.  _ Someone I actually know. _

Frank Zhang stands where the dragon had been seconds ago, looking rather sheepish, which was a strange look for someone of his size. “Sorry Percy. Got a little carried away.” 

Nico starts thinking of a fire pun, something along the lines of  _ he got fired up,  _ but Percy snorts before he even gets to finish it. 

“It's fine.” the nymph- seriously, a nymph though, who would've thought- smiles. “Great that you figured it out. But I think the dragon is an outdoor trick.”

“Yeah.” Franks says, rubbing the back of his neck with a nervous smile, as Piper pulls Nico to find a seat behind the glass wall separating the seats and the actual classroom.

“Hey Nico.” Frank calls, once he realizes that the brother of his charge is in the room with him. He comes and sits in one of the chairs in front of Nico. “When did you start going here?”

“I go to Elysium. And I started today actually.” Nico answers, ignoring Piper's question of ‘ _ you know him?’. _

“That's great.” Frank grins. “Hazel is gonna be so happy to see you. She came along with me today.”

Nico looks around, not seeing his sister's trademark head of curly- and kind of poofy- hair. “I don't see her.”

“Bathroom.” Frank supplies as an answer,getting back up, and Nico nods, deciding to finally answer Piper with the explanation that Frank is his sister Hazel’s guardian, and yes, they know each other. Piper doesn't respond, not that she has much of a chance. Nico's too busy to answer any other questions she might have, as it's a bit difficult to answer anyone when you have arms full of overly excited sister. Hazel practically tackles him with the force of her hug, squealing happily.

“Hi Hazel.” Nico groans, before he starts gasping for air and his sister lets him go, sheepishly apologizing for nearly choking him. 

“It's so good to see you.” Hazel sighs, sitting down quietly so Percy's class can begin. “Dad said you'd be coming to Elysium. But you seemed so eager to be anywhere but here, that I didn't really believe him.”

“Wasn't my choice.” Nico grouches, irritated at the mention of his father. “Dad tricked me. He only agreed to me going to school so he could get me to come here.”

“Well, even though you may hate it, I'm glad you go to Elysium. Bia and I missed you while we were gone.”

Nico's irritation fades at his sister's name. “I missed you guys too. Where is Bia anyway?”

Hazel shrugs. “Probably off with her guardian, training.”

“For what?”

“To be a guardian.”

Nico chokes a little, interrupting the instructor's speech to the class. He smiles nervously and sends a quiet ‘sorry’, before going back to what Hazel said. “I'm sorry, but  _ what? _ ” 

“You heard me.” Hazel shrugs. “She's tired of being a pampered princess. Says she wants to go out and be a guardian. Protect, instead being protected. I don't think it's a bad idea, and I've started taking training from Frank.”

“Training for what?”

“Not to necessarily become a guardian but at least want to be able to protect myself should something happen to Frank.” Hazel wrings her hands. “I know he's supposed to protect me, but I don't want him to get hurt because of it.”

Nico scoffs. “He did know he can turn into a dragon, right? Even if something does happen, I'm sure he can take care of himself and you.”

“I know that.” Hazel sighs. “I just don't want to be some prissy girl giggling behind her big, strong, shapeshifting guardian. I want to be able to do something. Besides, handling a sword is actually kind of fun. And remember that old belly chub I used to have?”

“Yeah.” Nico says, thinking back to all the times that Hazel had griped as she was having her dresses refitted, holding her stomach in distaste.

Hazel pats her belly with pride. “Nothing but muscle. I've almost got a six pack coming in. Bia has a bunch of muscles under her dress.”

“Really?” Nico wonders aloud, kind of distracted, since his eyes catch the flash of lightning from beyond the glass. 

Hazel hums, turning back to watch the rest of the class continue on. She really gets into it, almost calling for blood when Frank steps up to spar with his own partner, morphing from beast to beast as the two of them battle. Nico doesn't really pay much attention to the actual fights, choosing to listen to Annabeth’s offhand comments about strategic mistakes. Apparently she studies battle strategy and history in her spare time, because as she watches the fights, she mumbles how one fighter or the other may have made a mistake.

However, Nico starts paying immediate attention when he sees Percy stand and take a stance. His opponent is a redheaded girl with tattoos traveling up her arms and chest to her neck. She takes her stance as well, the instructor signals for them to begin. 

For a few seconds, the two students just step cautiously around each other. Then the girl's eyes begin to glow green and energy begins to flow around her. She launches the energy in Percy's direction like a whip, her tattoos beginning to glow along with her eyes. Percy dodges easily, water wrapping around his body as he gets back into his stance and launches a blast of water at his opponent. The water freezes in midair, flying towards the girl who turns the energy into a shield, blocking the ice. 

For a couple seconds Nico pays close attention to the fight, then once again, he's seeing it from Percy's view, feeling the energy build up in Percy's body as he launches two more blasts of water, the first turning to steam and the second turning into small ice daggers. The steam makes the girl blink in mild confusion, probably searching for Percy, and the daggers stop mere milliseconds before they would be embedded into the girl's skin.

Nico feels more then he hears Percy say “Dead.” Then the instructor calls the match in Percy's victory, and Nico feels the energy release as the ice turns to water and falls to the floor with a splash.

Annabeth pats his shoulder when he comes back to himself, asking him if he Link drifted again. When he nods shakily, Annabeth shakes her head with a small smile. “Just be careful.” she says, a friendly warning.

Nico tells her that he will, as Percy jogs excitedly to him to talk about his match. They sit next to each other as the rest of the class spars, sending jolts of positive energy back and forth between the two of them. Percy meets Hazel and the two of them get along well- until the end of the class when she goes into brother protection mode and makes Percy promise to keep Nico safe no matter what.

“Of course I will.” Percy grins. “That's what guardians are for.”

“Just making sure.” Hazel smiles, letting Frank grab her hand and start the two of them toward the door. “My sister and I have been learning how to fight like one of you guys, and I'd hate for one of us to have to use you as a practice dummy. See you later Nico!” And then she's gone, leaving Percy standing nervously next to Nico.

“Is your whole family like that?” Percy asks, as they walk back to their dorm later on. “Like, all of them?”

Nico thinks for a moment. “Most of them are. But my stepmother is pretty cool about me being by myself. She knows that I can deal with most things when I need to. She's really only protective about her garden. If you are ever so lucky to be allowed to step foot in that garden, do not, I repeat, do  _ not  _ step on a single petal. Saw a maid do it on accident once.”

“What happened to her?”

Nico shrugs. “Dunno. Never saw poor Ciria again. But Persephone did get a new odd looking flower that week…”

“Your family is slightly disturbing.” Percy sighs. “I mean, both of your sisters training to be guardians? What's that all about?”

“Well Bianca is the only one who actually wants to be a guardian. Hazel just doesn't want to be useless to her guardian. She wants to be able to protect herself, and even Frank if she needs to.”

Percy frowns. “But we're your  _ guardians.  _ Protecting royals is what we  _ do. _ ”

“Yeah..” Nico trails. “But I guess she just wants to make sure. Now that I think about it, it doesn't sound so bad. Maybe you could teach me..?”

“No.”

Nico stops in his tracks, blinking as Percy marches on ahead. “Well, why not?”

“Because a friend of mine has a bad experience with teaching a royal to be a guardian.” Percy's expression turned grim. “I saw him go through that, and it nearly broke him. The last thing I want is to go through it myself.”

“Just because it happened to him doesn't mean it'll happen to us. It'll be fine.” Nico reasons. 

“Nico, I really don't want us to argue, but I'm not going to let you do this.” Percy says, reaching for the door to their dorm building. “Please let it go.”

Nico sighs, and nods, agreeing to let the issue drop. For now.

* * *

 

Nico lays awake that night, staring that the ceiling in confusion of the day's events. His first day at the academy was a bit more hectic than he would have liked. But he  _ did _ see his sister, so he supposes that it wasn't a total bust. But he wishes Percy had agreed to teach him martial arts. But there's one thing that Nico can't really figure out- other then Percy's recent irritation at being asked about his past and teaching royals to be guardians. 

He can't quite put his finger on it, but he can't help but feel that he knows that curly haired boy from earlier. What was his name? Lincoln? Lorenzo? It started with an L, Nico knew it did. 

_ Leo.  _ Death supplies, deciding to actually be helpful for once.  _ I believe the name you're looking for is Leo.  _

_ Thanks. _ Nico answers, going back to wondering how in the world he knows Leo. It couldn't be that he knows him from school, Nico's never been to a real school before. Like, ever. Maybe he was a guest at one of his father's parties? Nico doesn't know how he would remember one person though. He usually forgets everything about those parties, including anyone who's brave enough to come and speak to him.

_ Any ideas? _ He asks Death, deciding that conversing with the demon is safe to a degree, since he can hear Percy snoring- they decided to stop sleeping in the same bed, it didn't work as well as they'd hoped. 

_ The boy as an individual is a stranger to me. But the energy attached to him seemed rather familiar. Almost like the energy of an old friend of mine. _

_ You had friends? _

Nico winces as Death sends some mighty vulgar words his way, then waits for him to continue explaining. 

_ Yes, I had several friends for your information.  _ Death gripes, matter of factly.  _ Most of them could be considered as horrible murderers, but that isn't the point. I had a friend named Hatred. _

_ Hatred? _

_ Yes, she picked it herself, don't ask me why. But anyway, the energy expended by that boy you met earlier was the same kind that she usually let off. _

_ What kind of energy? _

_ Hateful. _

_ ….Hateful energy? _

_ What? Her name  _ was  _ Hatred, it was only logical that if she gave herself that name, she'd be a hateful little- _

_ Okay! That's enough, I'll figure it out myself.  _

Death grumbles something about never being allowed to curse, and Nico goes back to wondering what to do about his new situation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kappa- A vampiric creature that resembles a human with green skin (Japan)
> 
> Nickar- A sea demon
> 
> *Please read*  
> Due to personal family matters, there will not be an update next week. To make up for this, I will be posting two chapters on the next Thursday after this one coming. Sorry in advance, and thanks for reading!!


	11. Chapter Five: Personal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this is a bit early but I wanted to make up for the missed update and I got a bit eager to do so. I will warn you, it gets kind of heavy in this chapter, but it's plot so yay. And the next chapter should be up in a few minutes, just like I promised last time.

Percy is beginning to think that this Link thing is a lot harder than he was originally led to believe.

 _Oh, it's easy,_ they said. _Like having a new best friend, but in your head,_ they said.

Percy didn't want to be rude to his teachers but, he called complete and total bullshit.

Having a Link wasn't easy, by any means. Was it horrible? No, not at all, if anything it was a very pleasant experience for the most part. Was it painful? Not in the slightest- as long as neither of them got a headache, or brain freeze. But even with as great and cool as it was to have someone else in your head, of course there are some issues, some things that will occur that will make the whole Link thing a little difficult to handle.

Like now for instance.

Percy swears on his life that until he met Nico di Angelo, he'd never heard someone curse so much. And he doesn't even do it out loud. Oh no, out loud he's pretty much the perfect gentlemanly prince, prim and mostly proper with the way he speaks. (Sometimes he slips up and says some grammatically incorrect things, but he usually catches and corrects himself.) But all bets were off in his head apparently. Percy has heard of the saying ‘cursing like a sailor’. He's not sure if using the saying as comparison is very fair, but he can honestly say that some of Nico's thought could make even the saltiest of sailors either piss themselves, or cry. And _Lucifer forbid_ he gets a bad grade on an assignment. Oh Percy's poor brain is filled with creative new cuss words from the last time Nico got below a B.

 _Fucking dammit!_ Nico's mental voice echoes loudly through their Link, and even though Percy is halfway across the building- in the common room that he discovered while cleaning- watching a movie, he winces. For a while all he feels is Nico's vibrant irritation, and he does his best to ignore it, because this movie is happy and he's not about to let Nico's irritation with math ruin his mood. Then, he gets blasted with several more colorful words used in _very_ creative ways, cursing Nico's teacher, Percy gives up on his movie and heads back to help his charge.

He finds Nico splayed on the floor of his room, laying on his stomach, limbs spread out like a starfish as he glares at his homework.

“You doing okay there?” Percy asks warily, since he can literally _see_ the waves of anger pouring out of this kid's body. (Holy Hell, that's scary.)

“This.” Nico grinds out, gesturing to his assignment angrily. “Is bullcrap.” Percy can tell that he wants to say something a little different, perhaps changing crap to some other, less dignified word, but he doesn't say it aloud.

“Want some help?”

Nico glances at him, with a glint in his eye that's kind of terrifying. “You know how to do this?”

Percy takes that as a signal that it's safe for him to move a little closer, so he does, sitting with his legs crossed and picking up the paper that Nico had been trying to wither away. He glances it over, feeling the memory of doing something like this in one of his old classes, and shrugs. He can see why Nico is having trouble. Percy hated this section. “Yeah, sure.” he says, nonchalant. “I learned this at Brym before I was certified as a guardian. We had to learn the same thing you guys would be so that we could help if you needed it. I hated this part though.”

 _Fucking same_ Nico echoes back, and Percy snorts grabbing Nico's pen and showing him where he made his mistake. Nico groans and rolls onto his back, declaring that he is done with homework for the day. Percy laughs and pulls him up, offering to watch a movie together in the common room.

“Actually, I wanted to go see my sisters today. Haven't seen Bianca in what feels like forever.”

Percy winces. “Is that the scary one who threatened me a few days ago?” Percy hopes not, that girl may have seemed friendly but she scared the life out of him.

“No, that's Hazel.” Nico reassures, before he smile turns a bit dark and he continues. “Bianca is worse.”

Percy gulps.

* * *

Asphodel Hall is rumored to be the best dorm hall at Elysium Academy. Located at the very front of the campus, the closest dorm to the actual school,  it gives students easy access to both the school and any other building near it. Asphodel Hall is also the best looking dorm hall on campus, with flowers sprouting and growing beautifully in all shades and sizes. The halls of the building are neat and tidy, smelling of soft fragrances and warmth. But the building is the best for another reason as well. The students living in Asphodel Hall are typically the nicest demons around, with smiles for miles and a good understanding of people.

Frank Zhang was a great example of this, almost always being nice and smiling.

Yeah, Frank was a good guy, giving a bit of truth to the whole Asphodel being the best thing.

His charge however, was a bit the opposite, and so was her sister. Percy had already met Hazel- and gotten scared to death by her- but Nico was right. His sister Bianca was worse. When they'd first arrived at Asphodel, Nico and Percy had found her in the basement- and Percy made a note to check if they had a basement- which had been transformed into some sort of target practice room. Percy's first impression of her was scary as hell, especially since within the first few seconds of seeing her, there was a throwing knife embedded in the wall next to his head.

Nico acts like such a thing is normal, and for him it probably is. After all, these scary girls were his sisters. But Percy is less immune to such behavior, so he'll admit the he squealed like a girl.

Nico raced to hug his sister, grinning as she squished him to the floor, both of them giggling like children. Percy was still having a mini panic attack from almost being hit with a throwing knife. His panic wasn't eased when Nico's sister noticed him and smiled.

“Sorry about that.” she said, as she yanked the knife from the wall, though it seemed she was talking more to the knife than him, but Percy didn't think about it. “I'm not used to anyone coming down here while I'm training. You scared me.”

Percy refrains from telling her that he was the one scared shitless- she had the knife in her hand again. Percy could tell that this girl was Nico's sister. They had the same eyes, dark and piercing, and the same cruelly beautiful features- not that he thought Nico was beautiful or anything, what a ridiculous notion. They both had the same greenish tinted skin, almost tan, glowing in the lights of the basement. Percy figured they were twins, though it wouldn't explain why Nico was a second year and his sister was a third. In any case, it was easier to tell that they were related then Nico's other sister. Hazel had golden eyes, not piercing black/silver ones, and her skin was a golden brown, with just a tint of red, kind of like fresh blood. Instead of slightly curly black hair that these two possessed, Hazel’s hair was extra curly and honey brown.

Bianca put the knife back on a shelf, with the others and put her hands on her hips, smirking. “So you're my little brother's guardian, huh?”

“I'm not your little brother.” Nico sighed. “We're the same age.”

“I'm older than you assmunch.”

“By like, two minutes, buttwad.”

Yep, theory confirmed. They were twins.

“Anyway.” Bianca said, pointedly sending a glare at her brother to shut him up. “It's nice to meet you. Hazel said you seemed nice, but I wanted to meet you myself.” Her eyes run up and down Percy's body, like she's mentally cataloging the best ways to take him down. “I guess she wasn't wrong, and my brother seems to like you enough to not want to punch you in the face, so you're good.”

Percy sighed. “Thanks, I guess.”

Bianca nodded, and walked to another shelf, grabbing a sword and giving it a few experimental swings. “No problem. My guardian, Zoë should be coming down here to help me train. I came down here early to get started. Want to help me practice until she gets here?”

Percy frowns. “Zoë. Zoë Nightshade? She's your guardian?”

Bianca nods, grabbing another sword after decided that the other wasn't to her liking. She holds one out for Percy to take, which he declines. “Yeah. Is that a problem?”

“No, not at all.” Percy says. “I just haven't seen her since she kicked my ass during one of our training classes. She got promoted to guardian status way before me. If she's the one training you, I think I'll pass on sparring with you. Can't protect your brother if I have broken bones.”

Bianca shrugs, holding the sword out to her brother with raised eyebrows. “How ‘bout you?”

Nico shakes his head. “You know how dad feels about that…”

“And suddenly, you're actually listening to him.”

“I'm trying to avoid as much of him as I can.” Nico says matter of factly. “And not doing anything to piss him off is one key step in doing so. Besides, I don't know how to use a sword.”

Bianca scoffs. “Just have him teach you.” She nudges her head towards Percy, and Nico shakes his head again, explaining that he and Percy already had that talk, and it wasn't happening.

“I need to focus on my schoolwork a little more anyways before I start getting into any extracurricular stuff.” Nico says, but Percy can hear the voice in his head whining about how much he wants to learn how to use a sword.

“Yeah.” Percy says, ignoring the voice with ease and agreeing with Nico. “He sucks at math. And protection is what he has me for. I'm not his guardian for nothing.”

“Ah, yes, you were always adamant about protection and loyalty weren't you?” A new voice sighs, and Percy grins as an old friends comes down the stairs.

Zoë Nightshade hasn't changed a bit. Well, she's gotten a bit taller, maybe a little skinnier, but otherwise, still the same black hair and eyes, hair pulled up and out of her face by a silver band. Her outfit is still almost all silver- another thing that hasn't changed- except for her pants, which are some strange greenish gray color with splotches of lighter green. Her boots are black, pants tucked into them, but everything else? Silver, right down to the bow and arrow tattoo on her forearm. (Percy doesn't know how she managed to get a silver tattoo, but he doesn't ask.)

“Zoë!” Percy yells happily, going to wrap her in a hug before she yanks his arm and twists it behind his back, painfully shoving him away. “What the-?”

“I apologize.” Zoë says quickly. “I am no longer allowed to alliance myself with demons of the male gender.” She points to her tattoo. “I joined the Huntresses a year ago.”

“The Huntresses?” Nico questions, to which Bianca quickly replies.

“The Huntresses are a group of female guardians who follow Artemis. She's the best female guardian in all of Hell, and last year, Zoë was chosen to be her second in command.” Bianca looks at her guardian with pride, while Zoë sputters.

“Wait, so you can't even hug me?” Percy pouts, because he hasn't seen this girl in literal years and then she goes and kicks his ass. (Again.)

“Unless engaged in combat with them, I am not allowed to have any physical contact or association with demons of the male gender.” Zoë says, like she's reciting something. “It's one of the main rules of joining.”

Nico frowns. “But Frank lives here, and he's a guy, so isn't that kind of breaking that rule?”

“Nope.” Bianca says. “We might live with him, but Zoë doesn't associate with him, and she doesn't touch him. She acknowledges him when she needs to, and goes about her day. Frank gets it.”

“You see to know an awful lot about this.” Nico frowns, eyes narrowing. “You want to be a Huntress too?”

“Technically, I already am one, not full fledged but halfway.” Bianca explains further, when Percy and her brother gives her blank looks. “Since I'm only training to be a guardian and not an actual guardian yet, I'm only half Huntress. I can still talk to guys and touch them, until I pass my test and become a guardian, but Artemis saw my abilities and said that when I became a guardian, I would already have a spot in the Hunt. Then, I would have to give up men forever.”

“So you won't be allowed to hug me? Or talk to me?” Nico frowns.

“Unfortunately no, but I can now, and I think that that's good enough, right?”

Percy can hear the resounding _no_ booming through Nico's head and into his own, but Nico nods. “Yeah, yeah that's fine. I still have Hazel right?”

Bianca grins. “Right. See, I knew you'd be okay with it!”

Nico smiles weakly at her, making up some excuse about having homework to finish- technically, it isn't a lie since he does have work to finish, but since he has no plans of doing so today, it's still kind of a lie- and leaves his sister to her training. He lets Hazel squish him into a hug, and lets Frank pat his head, quiet the whole time, before he makes Percy follow him out.

“Hey.” Percy starts in on him, as soon as they're walking back to their building. “Are you...okay?”

It' a dumb question, and he knows it. Everything about the way Nico looks right now suggests that he is not okay, from the frown on his face, to the way his arms are crossed, kind of like a hug.

“I'm fine.” Nico says aloud, voice sounding irritated. “I can handle this. I spent most of my life alone, what's one more person?” He sounds bitter, and the sting in his words kind of makes Percy want to wrap him in a blanket until he's happy again.

Now that he's thinking on it, most of Nico's memories are sad ones. No mom, a busy father who didn't really understand what he was going through- whatever it was because Percy still didn't know. His only source of light had been his sisters. His sisters were his happiest memories, they always made him smile even when everyone else was intent on seeing him cry. It must have been killing him, one of the few good things about his childhood disappearing. Percy knew the feeling.

“Hey, it's almost lunch right?” Percy says, mind making up suggestions as he goes. “What do you say we go home and I make something? That sound good?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Alright, what you hungry for?”

Percy already knew the answer. Roasted lizard, his sister's favorite. Percy already has the recipe for it in his head, and he silently thanks whatever deity that rules Hell, for that cooking course he took in school.

* * *

Nico doesn't talk for the rest of the day. After lunch, he doesn't even come out of his room. Percy has to bring him dinner, even though he can quite literally feel the sadness coming out from behind his closed door. He could feel it in his own being, like an oppressing, overwhelming urge to shove his soul from his body just to avoid feeling this way.

Percy huffs, shaking his head to clear it of Nico's oppressing thoughts.

“Dinner is served.” he smiles, holding the tray of food with one hand.

“Not hungry.” Nico mumbles, from his place under his mountain of blankets- where did he even get all of them?

“You sure? I made this just for you..” Percy singsongs this, making sure that Nico pokes his head out before walking closer.

Nico narrows his eyes, glancing to the plate of food for just a second before glaring back up Percy.  “Not. Hungry.”

Percy sighs, setting the plate down on Nico's bedside table. “I'll leave it here, just in case.”

“Percy..”

“I know you're not okay Nico.” Percy frowns, staring down at Nico's bed. “I'm in your head, remember? I can feel everything you feel, even if I don't want to. As much as you may try, you can't hide from me.”

“You seem to be pretty good at hiding from me.” Nico mumbles, sending Percy a well placed glare.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“I asked you if you would teach me to be a guardian and you told me no, because something happened to your friend that made you not want to get into that. But you wouldn't tell me why.”

“That's personal.”

Nico scoffed. “So is my past with my sister, but you seem to be pretty interested with that, so how about we make a deal.”

“What kind of deal?”

Nico shrugs, though beneath all the covers he kind of looks like a worm. “Simple. You tell me why you won't let me train like a guardian, and I'll tell you why I am absolutely okay.”

“But you're not okay.”

Nico sits up, rolling out of his blanket cocoon. “Deal?” he asks, ignoring Percy's comment.

Percy sighs and makes him move over, sitting on the bed with his legs crossed so he's facing Nico.“You first.”

Nico shoves his blankets over, grabbing one to wrap around his shoulders, making himself comfy before he begins.

“As you already know, since you are indeed in my head, I grew up in a palace, and I was alone most of the time. I was sheltered, kept away from anything or anyone that could be a danger to me. But even with the amount of protection I was given, I wasn't really safe. Physically, yeah I was fine. But mentally? I was a bit of a downer, just stuck to schedule, studied and attended my dad's parties when he wanted me there, and was generally sad. But my sister, was always there to cheer me up. Hazel came later, when my dad married Persephone, but Bianca had pretty much always been there. She knew I had to stick to my schedule, and she respected that, even if she didn't get it at first. But she stuck around when no one else wanted to. Besides my dad, Hazel and Persephone, she was the only one in the whole palace who wasn't afraid of me.”

Percy frowns, wondering how anyone could be afraid of Nico. Looking at him doesn't exactly inspire fear- except when he's annoyed or angry, as Percy has come to find out in this short time of knowing him. He's small, in terms of size, kind of thin in a way that isn't exactly healthy, but isn't unhealthy either. He looks kind of fragile, like glass or paper, like if Percy goes to touch him, he'll get a paper cut. The only things really strong looking about him are his eyes, so full of emotion and untapped fury that it probably should be frightening. But attached to Nico's small frame, their fear factor lessened substantially.

Nico hears his thought, and rolls his eyes, continuing. “Hazel was the same. She accepted me for who I was, what I was. Neither of them cared about what anyone else thought, and I guess hearing that one of them wouldn't be able to be around me like that, it hit home. I love Hazel, but Bianca was there first, and the bond is deeper. It just hurts to know that pretty soon,  I won't have her around her anymore like I'm used to.”

“It might not be that soon.” Percy says, trying to stay positive, for Nico's sake.

Nico snorts. “Bianca is good at everything. Knowing her, she's doing good in all her regular classes and doing even better in her training. She'll be a full fledged guardian before either one of us knows it.”

Percy watches as Nico pulls the blanket tighter around himself, pulling his knees in a bit closer to himself. For just a second, he starts to go a bit see through, transparent, almost melting into the shadows of the room. (Now that Percy thinks about it, Nico does that a lot, making the shadows bend around his frame.) Then Nico perks up a bit, urging Percy to tell his own story.

Percy nods, trying to think of the best way to start this without making Nico even sadder. His mom used to say that it was better to start a story with a question, to get the listener to pay attention. His mom usually never wrong, so Percy follows her advice.

“Remember Jason? The blonde guy I introduced you to at lunch yesterday?”

“He's that Leo guy's guardian, right?”

Percy nods. “Yeah. He's a good friend of mine. His mom is half Raicho, and his dad is an Elemental, and please don't ask me how that works because even he doesn't know.”

Nico snorts at that. Percy takes a deep breath, preparing himself to tell this story. It's the first time he's ever told anyone. Ever. “When my home was, for lack of a better word, destroyed, I was put into a refugee program that had me sent to live with Jason and his family. Their castle was huge, and they had so many servants I lost count. In all the chaos, I got tossed around a lot, and a lot of the servants didn't really know what to do with me, or what to make of me. I wasn't good at much, and I was a male nymph. To them, I was weird. But Jason and his sister didn't care. They thought it was cool that I was a nymph _and_ a boy.” Percy chuckled at the remembrance of a younger Jason jumping around, asking if he could control water, and then freaking out when Percy made the pond in the garden erupt. “We became good friends. Jason's sister, Thalia was great too. She knew all this stuff and she played pranks on the servants. The three of us practically grew up together. But neither of them wanted to take over their dad's kingdom. Thalia was sick of wearing dresses all the time, and Jason just hated being looked at all the time just because he was a prince. So when their dad sent them to Elysium, they transferred to Brym without telling him and trained to be guardians instead. I wasn't a royal so I was already there, and we helped each other train. Thalia was great with a bow and arrow,  and pretty much everything else. She passed her test and became a guardian way faster than me or her brother could. She got assigned to a prince from the west, near the Blood Mountains, and while her and her charge were away on break, they were attacked.”

Nico's eyes widened. “What happened?”

“Apparently the kingdom of Thalia’s charge had been in a feud with another kingdom for a while. Thalia, her charge, and his family were ambushed. The prince and his family were killed, and Thalia was only saved by the palace guards.”

“She's okay, right?”

Percy snorted. “She's _alive_ , if that's what you mean. But she's been in the Brym infirmary ever since, in a coma. I don't know all the details, but I guess she could feel her charge dying, and it overwhelmed her. Between her physical wounds, and the emotional strain that the Link was putting on her mind, she shut down. Jason did too, for a while. He stopped going to classes, stayed in the infirmary with his sister. I started going too. I wanted to be there when she woke up, but she hasn't yet. All that time spent neglecting class, is the reason that he and I are still taking classes. We fell behind, and now we have to make it up. Jason's doing better now, but I know it still hurts. I just don't want to go through what he did with Thalia, or worse, end up like her. I don't want that to happen with either of us.”

Nico frowns. “You don't know that it will though. If you train me, you won't have to worry, because you can watch me.”

“I don't want to take that chance.” Percy counters, doing his best to stress how bad of an idea this is. “Doing what we do, it's dangerous. You have weapons flying at you, and you'll get hurt.”

“I can take a punch.” Nico insists. “I lived with Bianca all my life, if there's anything I can do, it's take a punch. Besides, I'm not trying to become an actual guardian. I want to do what Hazel is doing. I just don't want to be dead weight for you carry if something happens.”

“My job is protect you. You learning to protect yourself, kind of makes me being here, a little unnecessary.”

“Do you not think I could do it?” Nico asks, eyes practically blazing, sliver burning into green. “Do you think I'm weak too?”

“No, I never said that. It's just-”

“I _know_ you're afraid of what will happen.” Nico interrupts. “I know you don't want a repeat of Thalia, and I understand that. But I need you to trust that I can do this, that it won't turn out that way.”

“I don't-”

Nico interrupts again. “Just _trust me._ ” He's pleading now, eyes too open and shining that it's nearly impossible for Percy to resist.

Good thing he's stubborn. Still, Nico's gaze makes it hard to say no. Percy wants to let go, say yes and feel Nico's elation instead of this desperate sort of want.

“I'll think about it.” he groans, so Nico can lay it off with the eyes.

He feels the desperation fall into a content sort of satisfaction, and tells Nico to eat his dinner.

He hears him whisper, “It's cold.” before he closes the door to Nico's room.

It's only later, when he feels Nico slip into unconsciousness, on the edge of sleep himself, that he replays Nico's question in his head.

_“Do you not think I could do it? Do you think I'm weak too?”_

Percy has half a mind left to think: _Too?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Raicho- A majestic bird that can momic the sound of thunder
> 
> Elemental- A spirit of nature that can represent one of the four elements


	12. Chapter Six: Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See? I did it! I'm not a sucky person! Enjoy this chapter!!

**Hatred is the demoness of anger. The fourth ancient demon of Hell, she is one of two female ancients. According to previous vessels who agreed to give information, she dislikes everything to a degree, and is rather quick to say so, using harsh language to express herself. She is the mother of many races of demons, all of them vicious and hateful like her. She has a temper that is nearly impossible to quell and is compatible with demons who possess the ability of pyrokinesis. Originally born a Pari, Hatred was almost killed in a raid on her village and in her rage, she set out to kill all of her attackers,  setting them on fire and laughing as they burned to death. Eventually, her intense anger made her powerful, and eventually, she became one of the ancients. She still has a habit of lighting those that she hates, on fire and laughing while they scream.**

“What are you reading?”

Nico jumps, slamming his book quickly and covering the title. Percy looks at him quizzically, and Nico sighs, calming down.

“Nothing.” he says.

“Looked pretty interesting, since you were hovering over it.” Percy answers, reaching into a cupboard to grab something to eat.

“Just something for school.” Nico lies, hoping that Percy lets it drop so he can think. Then, he has an idea. “Hey, remember that Lorenzo kid?”

Percy frowns. “You mean Leo? Jason's charge?”

“Yeah.” Nico huffs, chastising himself for not remembering Leo's name. “Him. Do you know what powers he has? Like, his abilities?”

Percy shrugs. “Don't know much, Jason only got assigned to him a few weeks before you showed up. I heard he's pretty good at building stuff,  and Jason's always complaining that whenever he gets irritated, he lights stuff on fire. But other than that, I got nothing.”

“So he has pyrokinesis?” Nico asks, trying to put two and two together. 

“I think that's what it's called.” Percy raises his eyebrow. “Why?”

“No reason.” Nico shrugs. “Just wondering.”

Percy shrugs and walks out of the kitchen, leaving Nico to think.

He opens the book- titled  _ Ancient Demonic History 101-  _ back up and looks over the passage he read before Percy came in. Hatred was born a Pari, and if Nico's memory serves, a Pari is a kind of fire fairy. And she's compatible with demons who can control fire. If what Percy said was true, then it was possible that Death’s suspicions may be right. Leo might be a vessel. 

_ What do you think?  _ Nico asks, calling on Death and blocking Percy out for the duration of their conversation. 

_ I believe you have reached the correct assumption.  _ Death says.  _ That boy may very well be the holder of my old friend. _

_ If he is, how come no else knows? There's no way the Headmistress doesn't know, she runs this school. And why isn't he on the same overly protective schedule that I was? _

_ Perhaps he's good at hiding it. _

Nico remembers the way that Leo had looked at him, like he was shocked at his existence. He probably thought he was the only one. It would make sense for him to be surprised.  _ Do you think he knows..? _

_ If I could sense his energy, no doubt the being held within him could sense yours. I'm sure that by now, he has his suspicions like you. _

Nico closes his book and groans. “Just one normal day, is that so much to ask? Seriously. First I ended up being mentally attached the guy who punched me in the face, then I learned that both of my sisters are doing some kind of hardcore training that I can't do because it'll probably scar my guardian for life if anything bad happens. Then I learn that one of my sisters is going to be an actual guardian, and once she is, I won't be able to interact with her more than a conversation. Now, I find out that I may not be the only person here like me. Can't have one day where I don't learn some kind of big information?”

Death ignores his griping, going on to ask what he plans to do.

_ I don't know. _ Nico sighs in his head.  _ I guess I could just get close to him and try to make an assumption from there. But I can't confront him yet, because I'm not sure and you aren't either. And if he isn't in the same situation as us, then I'll have just exposed myself and everyone will know that I'm a vessel. _

_ Is that so horrible? _

Nico frowns.  _ Considering that the very word inspires fear in every demon who hears it, including my guardian and his friends who just so happen to now be my classmates and hopefully future friends, yes. That would be a  _ very  _ bad thing. _

_ I think that inspiring fear in the hearts of the weak, is fun. _

_ You would. _

Nico ends the conversation there, opening his head back up and closing Death off. It takes a second for the creeping, cold feeling of Death to melt into the warmish, light and airy feel of Percy, but Nico breathes when it does. He puts his book away, reminding himself to give it back to the library, then he makes it a goal to find his guardian.

Usually, Percy's in the common room, since that seems to be his new favorite place in the dorm. But surprisingly, Percy isn't there. He's in his room, sitting against the wall with a book.

“Hey.” he says absentmindedly, flipping the page in his book. “You were looking for me?”

“Yeah, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Sure.” Percy shrugs, folding a page and closing his book. “Go ahead.”

“I wanted to meet that friend of yours.”

Percy gives a playful smile. “You're going to have to be more specific, I have a lot of friends.”

“Leo.” Nico says. “And his guardian, Jason. I wanted to meet them again.”

“Oh, what for?”

Nico doesn't have to rack his brain for an answer, he already has one ready. “Well.” he starts, wringing his hands. “I don't really have a lot of friends, or any for that matter. You're my only friend actually, and I was hoping that I could start making some?”

“That's cool. But are you sure you wanna start with Leo? He's kind of loud, and brash, and-”

“A perfect opportunity to get out of my shell. I'm sure I can handle it Percy.”

Percy sighs, shrugging as he stands. "Whatever you say, Your Highness."

* * *

 

When Percy had said that Leo was loud, Nico didn't believe him. The one time they'd met, Leo had been pretty quiet, of a bit sarcastic. Then again, his entire dorm was pretty loud in itself, so Nico supposed that it wouldn't be impossible for Leo to be the same. Where their own was quiet and reserved, Leo's was booming with noise. In rooms where it usually silent in their own dorm, Leo's was filled with chatting- or arguing- demons. 

As soon as Percy knocked on the door, Nico could hear loud footsteps approaching, a few screams and a loud crash before the door opened, revealing a tired looking blond boy with a scar on his face. He was one of Percy's instructors, Luke, if Nico remembered correctly. 

“Percy!” he says, smiling even though his voice is gruff. “What are you doing here?”

Percy grins back, explaining that Nico wanted to come as he enters the doorway. “Said he wanted to make some friends.”

Luke glances at Nico, eyebrow raising in question. “And he decided to start with Leo?”

“Guess he likes a challenge.”

“Puke!” someone yells, and Nico has half a mind to look towards the direction of the voice, expecting to find someone kneeling and yakking their guts out. What he gets is a brown haired boy racing towards them- or towards Luke, as Nico finds out when the boy barrels into the blond and nearly sends him to the floor. 

“Travis..” Luke says warningly, to the boy who appears to be his charge. “What did I tell you about doing that?”

“Not to. Sorry.” Travis grins, sounding incredibly not sorry. “But we have a bit of a problem.”

Luke groans, planting a hand on his forehead and dragging it down his face. “What did you do this time?”

“I may or may not have summoned a hellhound in Connor’s room and it may or may not have wrecked the room.” Travis wrings his hands, apparently trying to look innocent, but it isn't working, especially not with that mischievous spark in his eye that makes Nico want to hide anything valuable. (He holds the book in his hands behind his back, just in case.) 

Luke gives Percy a pointed look as if to say ‘ _ help me’ _ before he sighs. “Travis, I get that you and your brother have this prank war going on, but what did I say about summoning lower level demons in the dorm?”

Travis’s face falls, looking like he just watched someone kick a baby. “Not to..”

Luke ruffles his hair, rolling his eyes at his apparent inability to be annoyed at his charge for long. “I'm not mad Trav, I could never be mad at you. Just tired of being tackled by hellhounds.” Travis is back to grinning. “Go get Leo, will you? Someone wants to talk to him.” Luke rushes off, heading upstairs and a few seconds later, there's a loud growl, a crash and Luke’s voice cursing Travis because apparently he summoned two hellhounds.

The ruckus dissipates just as Travis comes back, a frazzled Leo Valdez trailing behind him. He's covered in an oily substance, clothes littered with holes and burn marks. “Who wants to talk to me?” he asks, dragging a gloved hand through his hair

“Me.” Nico says, trying for a friendly smile that probably looks more nervous than anything. “I did.”

Leo freezes at the sound of Nico's voice,  body going rigid the same way he did the last time he saw Nico. His eyes widen, then narrow, before he asks what Nico wants. Nico's a bit busy cursing himself in his head for not thinking this through, so Percy answers for him, telling Leo that Nico just wants to make a few friends.

Leo relaxes a bit. “He picked me as his first choice?”

“Why does everyone keep asking that?” Nico mutters, letting Percy wander off- something about wanting to talk to Jason- and then letting Leo guide him through the halls of his dorm.

Nico doesn't pay much attention to the dorm itself, mostly because the place isn't as interesting as the demons in it. As he follows Leo he sees at least three rooms in utter chaos, about two couples making out furiously, and at one point he nearly gets ran over by a hellhound being chased by Luke. 

“Is it always like this?” Nico asks, pressing himself against the wall to avoid being bulldozed by a couple of sylphs. 

“Like what?” Leo answers, apparently oblivious to the noise as he turns a corner and fishes in his pockets for something.

Nico winces as he hears another crash. “Loud.”

Leo produces a key, which he in turn places into a lock on the door in front of them, yanking the door open and ushering Nico through it. He shrugs as he closes the door behind them. “I've lived here for a bit now, so I've grown immune to it. It was a hit much when I first got here though.” He walks in front of Nico now, telling him to watch his step as they walk down creaky stairs. 

The stairs lead to a sort of bunker, loaded with machinery and equipment and a bunch of other assorted things that Nico doesn't even want to explain. The room has a sort of chaotic organization to it, things strewn about in seemingly random places that somehow make sense.

“Sorry about the mess.” Leo says. “I'm usually the only one down here.” He flicks a switch on the wall, and the rest of the room lights up, revealing even more stuff, and a work table piled high with tools. 

Nico picks up a piece of metal dropping it quickly when it twitches in his hand. “What is all this?”

Leo grabs the same metal piece that was in Nico's hand, grinning as it comes apart into a little creature and starts to move, and then frowning when it starts smoking. “Just a way to keep myself busy. I have this hyperactive thing, and I can't sit still unless I'm intensely focused on something. Building stuff helps me focus, and it's pretty fun sometimes too.” He twists a piece on the metal creature and it starts back up, crawling up his arm, around his neck and perching itself on his shoulder. 

Nico shrugs, wandering further into the room and placing his book on an empty space of a shelf. He stops dead when he hears a loud crackling noise and feels a puff of hot breath on the back of his neck. He turns slowly, covering his mouth to muffle the shriek he wants to let out at the sight before him. “Leo?” he calls shakily over his shoulder.

“Yeah?” Leo answers, voice coming closer before he sees Nico's predicament and chuckles. “Oh, I see you've met Festus.”

“Uh huh.” Nico frowns, eyes glued to the large metal beast in front of him. It's definitely a dragon, or at least the head of one. The rest of the dragon's body is missing, just it's head and neck visible along with a bunch of wires sticking out of the golden plating of it's neck. The dragon's eyes are glowing red, it's nostrils puffing out steam as it makes a series of cracking and squeaking sounds that Leo laughs at.

“He says hello.”

“Uh huh.” Nico says, shying away from the metal dragon warily. “What's he doing here?”

“He was my dad's, but somehow he got torn up, so I've been trying to figure out how to fix him. My dad loved this guy, and I figured that fixing him up for my dad would make my old man like me a little more.” Leo pats the dragon's head softly. “Plus, he's great company. You wouldn't believe how great he is at telling jokes.”

“Your dad doesn't like you?”

Leo sighs. “My relationship with my father is what one would call, complicated. I know he cared, but he's distant about it. I'm hoping that this guy here can help change that. I used to help work on him with my dad in his garage before I came here, and now that he's broken, I think my dad blames me for it.”

“Wait, what does your dad do?”

“He's a craftsman.”

Nico blinks. “I thought you were a prince.”

Leo laughs. “Do I seem like the royal type to you?” Nico looks at him closely, his tattered clothes and unkempt appearance. No, he doesn't seem very royal at all, the exact opposite in fact. “My dad's a craftsman in Sýfrî, and he wanted me to have a good education so he sent me here.”

“But I thought this was a school for royals.” 

“It is.” Leo agrees. “But my dad's friends with the headmistress, more or less, so he called in a favor and managed to get me a scholarship here.”

“So you just go here, on your own free will? You don't have any kingdoms to worry about running or parents to please?” Nico asks the question quietly, mostly for himself, because the idea of having so much  _ freedom _ . It's unheard of for him. 

Leo walks back to his worktable, beginning to fiddle with a few wires. “Not of entire free will.” he admits as he cuts a wire and examines it. “I still have responsibilities. I have to get the grades to keep my scholarship, and I have….other things to attend to. But as for all that stuff about running kingdoms and junk. I don't have to worry about all that.”

“I wish I had that.” Nico sighs, thinking about how amazing it would be to not have to worry about being a prince. 

“Not as good as it sounds man.” Leo chuckles. “My life isn't all that fun. I have stressful shit to worry about.”

“Like what?”

Leo glanced at him. “You don't want to know, trust me. Besides, I'm sure your life is stressful as hell too.”

Nico groaned. “Don't even get me started, or we will literally be here all day.”

Leo laughed. “You know what? When I first met you, you seemed pretty stuck up to me. Maybe it was the whole prince thing, but you're actually pretty cool.”

“Thanks.” Nico smirks, shrieking when the little metal creature on Leo's shoulder hops onto his own, and frowning when Leo laughs so hard he chokes.

* * *

 

“So…..” Percy prods at Nico on the way home, his finger poking at Nico's shoulder.

“So, what?”

“So is he your friend?” Percy seems to be way too excited for someone who has no trouble making friends.

Nico shrugged. “He doesn't hate me, so that's a plus.”

“But you didn't answer my question, is he your friend?”

“I think so.”

“Great!” Percy yelps. “Now we can have him and Jay over!”

“Umm, I never agreed to that!” Nico yells, speed walking behind Percy as they argue over whether Jason and Leo can come over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...I finally got Festus into a fic, I'm so happy. And yes if some of you are wondering, Travis’s nickname for Luke is Puke. Damn straight.


	13. Chapter Seven: Control

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another on time chapter! I'm on a roll. (If you are laughing about me celebrating something so weird, please consider the fact that I am the queen of procrastination.) Anyway, enjoy the chapter and see ya next week!

“Concentrate Nico.”

“I'm  _ trying. _ ”

Nico really is trying, he's doing his best. But when he'd told Percy that his powers drained him, he hadn't been kidding. Even now, as he tries to manipulate the shadow nearest to him, he can feel his strength waning. The shadow wiggles a bit, starting to do what he wants, then it twitches back to the way it was and Nico groans. 

“Good.” his instructor, Chiron says, satisfied as he pats Nico on the shoulder.

Nico frowns. “Good? It didn't even do anything. It just twitched.”

Chiron smiles. “Yes. But if I recall correctly, it didn't do that last time. Improvement is improvement, no matter how small.”

Nico sighs, walking back to switch places with another student who snickers at him as he walks past. He flops gracelessly next to Percy, glaring in frustration as another student easily channels a bolt of lightning through her body and fires it a several targets.

“You'll get it eventually.” Percy says, probably trying to cheer him up, to no avail. 

Nico snorts. “The one thing my tutor didn't try to teach me. I thought this stuff was supposed to come natural.”

“To some people, it does. For others, it takes time, dedication and a lot of practice.” Percy shrugs. “I had to practice forever to get to where I am now and I still have trouble sometimes. I just don't know why they didn't teach you this when you were home. Jason's dad taught him how to control his powers as soon as he was old enough to use them.”

Nico sighs. “Yeah, that's traditionally how it's supposed to go. But I was never taught. My dad knew I had powers, but he was afraid of me using them.”

“Why?”

Nico shrugged. “My powers are unpredictable. One day they're weak, and the next day, they're strong enough to bring down a castle. They fluctuate, and my dad was afraid that I might hurt someone, especially myself.”

“I don't think that's normal.” Percy mutters.

“Neither am I.” Nico mumbles. “But unpredictable or not, I need to learn to control my powers, no matter how much they drain me. I don't want to hurt anyone.”

Percy stands, stretching. He has been sitting for a rather long time. “You won't.”

“So sure.” Nico huffs, mood getting worse as he watches a sylph summon a powerful gust of wind and turn it into a whirlwind with ease. He crosses his arms over his chest as Percy sits back down.

“Of course.” Percy says, reassuring. “If I could do it, I'm sure you can. And I sucked when I first started.”

“How did you get better?”

“I learned that powers are mostly tied to two things: emotion and strength. If I get angry, my powers do what I want, but not the way I want. So I use my will to make my powers do what I want, exactly the way I want them to.” Percy says this as he flicks his hand, pulling a bit of water from a bucket in the corner of the room. The water swirls around his palm, morphing into different shapes. First a dragon, then a sword, a hand. With a flick of the wrist, the water flows back to the bucket and plops into it. “See?”

Nico frowns. “I can't do that.” 

“Sure you can, it takes some time, but once you get the hang of it-”

“No.” Nico interrupts. “I literally can't do that. I can't use my will to control my powers. It doesn't work that way for me.”

“And why not?”

Nico freezes, trying to think of an answer that won't end with him telling Percy about him being a vessel. It was true that using his will wouldn't work, because his wasn't the only one. Death had a say in how his powers worked, how well they behaved or misbehaved. 

“It just doesn't.” Nico sighs, staring at his hands in his lap. “Trust me.”

Percy leans back, watching as Nico's instructor sends the last student back to his seat, galloping over to end the class with a speech on practicing and getting better. “Well, then we stick to the emotion thing.”

“We?”

Percy shrugs, standing with the rest of the class. “I'd be glad to help you learn how to control your powers.”

Nico snorts, standing as well and beginning to walk out the room, with Percy by his side. “And how do you plan to help, since you seem to be so eager to do so.”

“We could practice with each other. I could teach you to control your powers, and once you got the hang of that, you could help me get better with my own powers.”

“Where would we be doing this practice thing?”

Percy thinks for a moment, brows furrowing, before he mutters ideas. “I was thinking that we could do like your sister and Zoë did, and turn our basement into a kind of training zone. But if your powers go all wonky like you say they do, I don't wanna take a chance on accidentally destroying the dorm. My school has a training room where we could work on your powers.”

“Would your headmaster be okay with that?” Nico inquires.

Percy rolls his eyes. “Mr. D? Yeah right. The only he cares about, is that no one dies at school. Besides, the training room is everything-proof. If it can handle Clarisse in all her angry glory, I'm sure it can handle you.”

Nico rolls his eyes as well, following Percy out of school.

* * *

 

Nico will admit it. He probably should have seen the giant dog coming at him. That would have saved him a lot of embarrassment. In his defense though, he'd been a bit preoccupied, gawking at the training room of Percy's school. 

Percy must have used the word ‘room’ pretty loosely, because Nico figured that there was no way that this could be classified as a room. More like a coliseum, or an arena. The ‘room’ that Percy is referring to, is just that, an arena, with gates placed at intervals that seem to be holding beasts of different kinds. There are seats positioned around the dirt floor, where several other students are sparring against one another. The air is heavy with the sound of metal clashing against metal and the occasional angry grunt.

“ _ This  _ is a room?” Nico asks, picking his jaw up from where it had dropped when he walked in. “Seriously?”

Percy shrugs with a grin. “To be fair, it's a loose term.”

“No kidding.”

Percy laughs, leading Nico past a few sparring students and towards one of the open gates. Nico hears a loud bark, a crash, a scream and he has just enough time to look down from the ceiling to catch sight of a wall of black. He yelps as the wall smashes into him, knocking him to the floor. He can hear someone shouting in panic, and the distinct sound of Percy's muffled laughter.

He hears another loud bark, and pushes at the wall with his hands, mentally telling Percy to quit laughing and help him. He hears Percy call something out, and then the wall is lifting off of him, replaced with something wet and rough. 

“Mrs. O’Leary!” Percy yells, still laughing. “Come here girl!”

There's another loud bark and something that sounds an awful lot like Percy getting squashed by the same thing that squashed Nico. 

“Mrs. O’Leary…” Comes Percy's muffled voice, his hand tapping on the side of what appears to be a large dog. “Off.”

The dog backs away, still trying to lick at Percy's face as he stands. Percy laughs and pushes at the hound, wiping his face off while Nico tries to stand. 

“Percy!” someone yells, the owner of the voice rounding the corner to reveal a pale looking Nightmare. “I am so, so sorry. I tried to get her to stay in the cage, but you know how she gets when she smells you. I couldn't-” 

Percy chuckles, reaching to scratch behind the dog's ears. “It's fine. I saw it coming. Just didn't think she'd go for him first.” He nods his head towards Nico with a smile.

“Sorry about that.” he shrugs. “She's excitable around strangers.”

Nico brushes off his pants, and his face, which is covered with what seems to be saliva. “You have a pet hellhound?”

Percy pats the beast on the head and sends her back with the Nightmare, wiping his hands on his pants. “Technically no. She belongs to the school. Originally, she was supposed to be used for practice, you know to liven things up a bit. But she was so nice to everyone that nobody could bring themselves to kill her. She took a liking to me and this guy named Charles- he's super cool by the way, you'll like him- and Mr. D said she could stay as long as we took care of her.”

“So you kind of have a pet hellhound.” Nico blinks.

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“So weird.”

Percy laughs, dragging Nico across the dirt to the center of the arena. “Whatever. We came here to work on your powers, not make jokes at me and my pet hellhound.”

“Okay then, all wise and powerful teacher.” Nico snickers. “What do I do first?”

Percy glances at him for a second, eyes roaming up and down his body. “First, you should probably take off your uniform.”

Nico looks down at his clothes, and instantly agrees with Percy. His school uniform isn't exactly the best thing to wear at a time like this. “But what am I supposed to wear? I didn't bring anything else with me.” 

Percy thinks for a minute. “I could run and grab you a training uniform for you to change into. But you'd have to wait here.”

Nico tells him to go for it, chuckling at the speed that Percy runs off, yelling back how he'll be right back.

“So you're Jackson’s charge, huh? You don't look like much.”

Nico frowns and turns to face the voice that spoke to him. He's faced with the sight of a strong looking brown haired girl and a black haired girl with blue eyes and a bag slung over her shoulder. It's obvious by the smug smile on the brown haired girl's face, that she was the one who spoke.

Nico shrugs. “Yeah, he's my guardian. And you are?”

The black haired girl speaks this time, smiling. “I'm Silena Beauregard, and the slightly rude Harbinger is my guardian, Clarisse La Rue. It's nice to meet you.”

Nico introduces himself, and Silena asks what he's doing here.

“Percy's trying to help me control my powers.”

“You don't know how?” 

“It's harder than it looks.” Nico says. “Plus I never really learned. This is actually my first time using them.”

“Like, ever?” Silena asks, unbelieving. “I can hardly go a day without using mine.”

Clarisse snorts, and Silena slaps her on the arm, frowning about something she must have said through their Link. 

“Anyway.” Silena says, rolling her eyes at her guardian. “It's great that your guardian is helping you. But are you sure you want to work on your powers looking like that?” She points at him and Nico explains that Percy ran off to get him a training uniform. 

“No, not that.” Silena scoffs. “I mean everything else. If you're going to be trying to control your powers, you're going to need a clear head, and I dunno how you can do  _ anything _ when your hair is always in your face.”

Nico pats his head, sweeping a bit of hair out of his field of vision, proving Silena’s point. She instructs him to follow her, leading him up to sit in one of the seats placed around the arena. She sets her bag down and sits behind him running her fingers through his hair, tutting about how ‘this won't do’.

Clarisse groans. “Seriously?  You have to do this now? I have to train.”

“You can still train while I do this. I'm not stopping you.” Silena says distractedly, still playing with Nico's hair.

Nico sees Clarisse roll her eyes before she stalks off to the other side of the arena, grabbing a spear and opening one of the gates, closing it behind her. Nico hears a roar, and a scream and flinches.

“Don't mind her.” Silena sighs. “She's always like that, always wants to be better no matter how good she is. Can't get her to take a break for anything. I'm hoping that eventually, I'll be able to wear her down enough to relax. But for now, let's worry about this hair.”

“What's wrong with it?”

“It's so….bland. Is this how you always wear it?”

“Yes.”

Silena scoffs again, searching through her bag for something before she starts pulling Nico's hair back. “How do you feel about a bun?”

“No thank you.” Nico says immediately.

Silena hums. “Maybe a ponytail?”

Nico shrugs. “I guess that's not so bad.”

Silena’s hands pull back some more hair, tying it up and clapping when she's finished. “Okay, it's not much but it's better than it was. Unfortunately I forgot my mirror at my dorm, so I can't show you what you look like, but it's definitely an improvement.” She chuckles, patting Nico on his shoulder. “Seems like your guardian agrees.”

Nico frowns for a second, not quite getting what Silena’s getting at until he spots Percy standing by the seats, staring at him. His eyes are wide, kind of like saucers, his mouth slightly open. The training uniform is clutched in his hands, and his body is frozen. Nico stands and thanks Silena, to which she smiles at him and wishes him good luck. (For what, he has literally no clue.) He makes his way to Percy, hopping down from the seating area and placing himself in front of Percy.

“Umm.” Percy drawls, when Nico waves his hand in front of his face. 

“Hey, Hell to Percy.” Nico frowns. “You okay there? What's wrong?”

“I've never actually seen your face before, like your whole face.” Percy gulps. “It's something to get used to.” He hands the uniform to Nico slowly, grip loosening gradually.

“What, do I look like a zombie or something?” Nico asks, not seeing a reason for his guardian’s inability to speak.

“No!” Percy says quickly. “Quite the opposite, actually.”

“Thanks, I guess.” Nico says slowly, before asking where he can change and following Percy's finger to a sort of locker room. He changes quickly, folding his school uniform and setting it down before pulling on the one that Percy gave him. It feels strange, having clothing this tight on him, he's used to loose fitting clothes that give him room, but these clothes have none of that. It's...odd, for lack of a better description. He can see the emblem of Brym Institute in the corner of the uniform’s tank top, the black dragon surrounded by brimstone and fire, giving a spot of color to an otherwise entirely black outfit. Nico moves around a bit, to get the feel for the clothing, finding that while it is new to him, it isn't unpleasant at all. 

When he walks out, all of the other students are gone, leaving the arena empty for the most part. Most of the light that was in the arena before he left, is gone, leaving the area almost completely dark. Nico isn't fazed by it at all, he's actually quite used to darkness- the lamps at his palace didn't really do their job like they should have- but it was still a bit awkward trying to find Percy. He found him eventually, standing by a very sweaty Clarisse and a grinning Silena, who kind of squeal when she spots him. 

“Hey!” she yells, catching both the attention of Percy and Clarisse. Clarisse smirks a bit as she waves and Percy just stares, in the same way he did when he saw Nico's hair change. 

“Remember when I said you didn't look like much?” Clarisse asks, looking him up and down. 

“Yes.”

“I take it back.” she smirks, eyes flicking to Percy, who's mouth is open wide.

Nico pretends not to hear Percy's mentally breathless  _ damn.  _ He also pretends not to hear the several curses that follow that particular thought. “Hi.” he says with a wave, reaching out to push Percy's mouth shut. “Shall we begin?”

Percy nods almost vigorously, waving off Clarisse when she gives him a soft punch to the shoulder. Nico lets him lead them to the middle of the arena, blinking in the darkness.

“Alright.” Nico says, rubbing his hands together. “Where do we start?”

Percy breathes deep, sending a glare to Clarisse when she whistles loudly. “First, you need to have a clear mind, a clear conscience. You said that your powers won't work with just willpower, so we're going to try and work with the emotional approach. Try to clear your head of anything, any thoughts that might branch into emotional feelings.”

Nico tries to do as he's told, clearing his head to the best of his abilities. He clears out all the frustrations of school, the sadness over the inevitable loss of contact with Bianca. He lets his confusion about Leo fade  all feeling ebbing into numbness. 

_ Good.  _ Percy praises in his head, and Nico swallows down the intense satisfaction boiling in his gut.

“Now try and control the shadows around you.” Percy directs. “Try to imagine a string connecting you to the thing you want to control and pull the string taut.”

Nico breathes, opening his mind to the shadows around him. He can feel them, moving as the light does, bending around him, latching onto him. They won't respond though, like children who won't listen. Nico imagine the string like Percy had said, imagines the string wrapping around the shadows around him and pulling them to him. Now he can really feel them, can feel the cool press of darkness on his skin. He orders the shadows to do as he wants, trying to make them bend and submit.

_ Need some help? _ Death pipes up, voice all too amused to be genuinely offering his help.

_ No. _ Nico snarls in his head.  _ I need to learn to do this without you. _

_ Why? We're tied to each other for life. You can't get rid of me kid, so why not just take the help? _

_ Shut. Up. I'm trying to concentrate. _

_ You wouldn't have to if you just listened and let me help. _

_ Help?  _ Nico growls.  _ Yeah right. You just want to make things worse. The last time you said you would help, I ended up almost shadow walking off a cliff. I don't need your help. _

_ You can't do it by yourself.  _ Death jeers.  _ You need me for this. _

_ I thought I told you to shut it. _

Death doesn't stop talking.  _ You think you can do this? You're wrong. You're weak, and you know it. Look at yourself, you can't even make a simple shadow bend to your will. They only bend now because they feel my presence. You are irrelevant. _

_ Seriously.  _ Nico hisses.  _ I need you to stop talking. _ He's almost got it. He's so close, if he could just-

_ That's right.  _ Death laughs.  _ You  _ need  _ me. Remember that when you want to act tough. You are nothing without me here. Nothing special, even now, as you try so hard to be. _

“Shut up!”

Nico feels the connection start to fade, then he strengthens his resolve and makes sure to shut Death away so he can no longer feel agitated. The connection comes back, the string getting tighter as he clears his head again. He can hear Percy yelping about something, some noise about him doing it, and- “Make a sea serpent!”

Nico opens his eyes- not really knowing when he even closed them- to see the shadows around him bending into the shape of a serpent. Percy claps happily, watching the serpent slither around like a child. Nico concentrates a bit harder, trying to morph the serpent into something else. He can feel his energy melting away, his powers draining him much quicker than usual because this is his second time using his powers today. 

The connection severs in a second, the serpent fading back into the shadows, the shadows melting away from his body, leaving him with a shiver. 

“That was amazing!” Percy grins, clapping Nico on his shoulder. “I know you said you could control shadows, but you can make stuff with them? So cool.”

Nico gives a shaky smile. “Yeah, thanks.”

“You're tired aren't you?” Percy asks, a smirk making itself known on his face.

“Yes.” Nico mumbles,  letting Percy lead him back to get changed. Percy takes the training uniform and folds it, saying that he'll wash it for them to use later. Nico doesn't know why he needs to wash it, but he doesn't question it. They walk home, Percy excitedly expressing his admiration for Nico's powers while Nico stay quiet and listens. They eat dinner in relative silence, Nico too tired to start a conversation and Percy's mouth too full to form words. The silence isn't uncomfortable at all, just quiet, a light atmosphere. Nico decides that he likes it.

He goes to bed early, falling face first into his pillow as soon as he pulls on his pajamas. He can hear Percy watching some movie in the common room, and he falls asleep thinking that he could really get used to this.

* * *

 

When Nico sees the pile of dead bodies, he curses. He's had this dream so many times that he could practically recite it by memory. He walks quietly through the chaos, the screams of the scared, no longer frightening him like they used to. He is no longer fazed by the sight of death that lies all around him, bodies torn to pieces, blood painting the street beneath his feet.  He doesn't have to look in the shattered pieces of glass to know that he looks like a corpse, pale skin, hollow eyes and white clothing, covered in red splotches and rips. He doesn't have to look up to see that the sky is a dark red, hazy and cloudy, but he does anyway because he'd rather look up then look down at the corpse covered ground. He doesn't have to look ahead to know that there are five darkened beings standing ahead of him, on top of a large hill of bodies. He knows what the beings represent: the five ancestral demons of Hell, Death, Vengeance, Hatred, Chaos, and Madness. 

He feels their gaze locked on him, feral and hungry. He feels the ground shake as the being approach him. Nico's confused, this isn't usually part of the dream. They've never actually come to him, just stood there looking high, mighty and covered in blood. 

“Well, well.” One of them says, sly and amused, like he's some sort of pet. “This one's yours? He's so...tiny.”

The next voice is one that Nico recognizes. It's hard for him not to, when that same voice is the one always in his head. 

“I know” Death sighs in irritation. “Hard to believe that he holds so much power within him. It's aggravating, really.”

Another voice, this one female and almost more irritated than Death- which is a feat in itself, really. “Why do you always get the interesting ones? He's so complicated, it's almost a shame to know that he'll die.”

Death chuckles. “The only thing complicated about him is that pestering guardian of his. A nymph, protecting someone of this vessel's caliber. How odd, and very amusing. I find it funny to watch them dance around each other like fools.”

Nico's confusion grows, eyebrows furrowing. This is very unusual, almost too calm. By now, there would be bodies raining from the sky, or at least a little blood rain. But nothing.

“Aw..!” Another female voice coos, too deranged to be genuine. “Look at him! He's so confused.”

“Of course he is.” Death snorts. “He's used to there being enough bloodshed to scar him for life by now. The fact that things are so calm right now is probably strange to him.” The next thing Death says is directed at Nico himself. “Don't worry little pest, you'll get your bloodshed, but this time, I aim to leave you scared out of your wits. I told you that inspiring fear in the hearts of the weak was fun for me, and the fact that you seem to have become numb is only more of a reason for me to do this.”

Death snaps his fingers and three bodies appear at Nico's feet, all three haunting. Bianca, Hazel and their father. All of them are covered in blood, so much that it's a wonder they aren't completely drained. Nico blinks, hands starting to shake.

No, he tells himself. It's just a nightmare, not real.

The first female voice chuckles. “He's trying to hold out. How quaint. May I make a suggestion?”

“Sure.” Death grins. 

Two new bodies appear, both of them familiar. An unrecognizable woman who looks a bit like him, and-

“Percy?” Nico mumbles, bending to reach for his guardian’s face, almost too marred to be recognizable. “What-?”

“See? He does care. How cute.” 

Nico chokes. He's used to seeing Percy alive and animated, not pale and cold, an expression of fear etched onto his facial features. 

“He doesn't even recognize the woman? Such a horrible son.” Nico doesn't pay attention to who says it, he just hears it, and his hands shake a bit more, the rest of his body beginning to follow suit. 

“Son?” he mutters.

“You don't even recognize your own mother?”

“Mother..” Nico frowns, the word unfamiliar on his lips. This woman, couldn't possibly be...then again, she does look an awful lot like him. Same hair, and skin. “This is my mother?”

“Sure is.” one of them laughs hysterically.

“What happened to her?” Nico can feel the fear settling in, his heart rate beginning to speed up. He tries to will himself to calm down, to no avail, and the effort just makes it harder to breathe. “What happened?”

“She was killed for being in Hell. She was a human. And she died for you.” Death's voice says, mocking  “Funny how even after all her efforts to save you, you still ended up here, attached to me?”

Nico chokes, kneeling, but now he isn't sure who to look at. “And them?” he asks, motioning at the others.

Death chuckles. “They haven't died yet, but I can assure you that once I break free of you, they will, and you'll get a front row seat to watch.” The chuckling turns to laughter, loud and booming, before Death is gone, taking Nico with him, controlling him. 

Nico watches as Death uses his body to destroy, kill. He watches in horror as entire cities, villages, homes and families are ripped apart. It isn't the blood that scares him, or the screaming, or the death.

What scares him the most, is that this is inevitable. This is his fate. What he's destined to become. And he's destined to drag everyone down with him. He has no control, as much as he wants to. He can never be in full control, destined to lose it and kill everyone around him. 

And what's scarier than that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harbinger- A being that foreshadows things to come.


	14. Chapter Eight: Distance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So....I kind of missed a week...or two. But I'm making up for it by putting up two chapters today, so please don't be mad at me. (And now that I actually have a stable wifi connection, I can actually keep my promise to update every week.)

Percy is almost certain that he has never been more confused in his entire life. Which is kind of saying a lot, because he's confused about a lot of stuff. But if there were a scale for how confused he is, his level would be at about six thousand. 

Nico has stopped talking to him, all communication ceased. He's blocked Percy off from his head, won't talk at all, and he hardly comes out of his room, except to attend classes and tag along with Percy to his own. Percy doesn't get it. Everything was fine a week ago. They had come home from the training room- thought Nico kept insisting that it wasn't a room, because ‘rooms aren't that big’- Nico had eaten, showered and gone to bed. Everything had been normal. Then in the middle of the night, Percy was jarred awake by the lack of warmth around him, realizing that his Link with Nico had been blocked. He figured that it was just a typical thing. It happened every once in awhile. Nico would block him off for a bit, then he'd open back up and apologize for the sudden inconvenience. 

But it's been days- almost nine- and Nico hasn't shown any signs of being anywhere near willing to open up. On top of that, he won't even speak to Percy, besides a greeting in the morning. For the past nine days, Percy's head has been rather silent.

Not that he isn't used to silence. When he lived with Jason and Thalia, he had to quickly get used to silence. Jason and Thalia may have been his friends, but they were still royals and though they didn't want to rule, they still had to learn how, just in case. It was often that Percy would be left by himself to walk around the palace while his friends attended their royal classes. So he was no stranger to silence. But when you have someone in your head for a while, then they just disappear, it takes a while to get used to. Percy's starting to go through Nico withdrawals. He's used to hearing Nico's voice in his head, cursing about his homework or something else. Now with no one else in his head, he feels kind of hollow, empty. And the worst part is that he can still  _ feel  _ Nico there, can still feel his presence. He just can't contact them. He'd say the feeling is like seeing someone you love, standing somewhere you can't- the saying ‘on the outside looking in’ comes to mind. Not that he loves Nico or anything like that. They're friends, strange friends who can telepathically communicate- until one of them shuts the other out- but they're friends all the same. The thought of them being together is strange in itself...

Now that he thinks about it, it wouldn't be  _ that  _ weird if they were together. They  _ are  _ in each other's heads after all. And it isn't like they would be the first time that a guardian and their charge became a couple. It's actually to be expected. It's extremely difficult to be in someone's head, see how they see, think how they think, and not start to fall, just a little bit. How could you see that person as they see themselves and  _ not  _ love them? And it's happened plenty of other times before. He knows for a fact that Annabeth and her guardian, Reyna are together, have been since before Percy showed up. Luke and Travis aren't together but they might as well be, with as much as they tease each other. The same goes for Leo and Jason. Hazel and Frank seem like they're dating. Silena and Clarisse aren't together, but both of them are dating guardians, so he figures that that has to count for something. But in any case, these weird feelings in his chest aren't strange in the slightest. The weird pounding he's starting to get in his chest is normal, as is the less than proper thoughts that sprouted the instant he saw Nico's hair in a ponytail or saw him in that training uniform. It's completely understandable that he feel like this, this empty feeling in his gut now that he can't talk to Nico like he wants to. This is normal. Right. 

Right?

Percy sighs, letting his head lean against the wall as he sits against it. This is ridiculous. He doesn't even know what he did wrong- because that's the only good reason he can think of that would make Nico act this way. And it isn't like Nico will tell him, because he's been on silent mode for the past nine days. In any case, Percy's a little fed up.  He's spent the past nine days feeling cold and empty while Nico just stood there looking emotionless, and to perfectly honest, he's had enough. 

He makes up his mind and huffs as he stands, walking down the hall from his own room to the closed door of Nico's. He breathes, taking a deep breath before he knocks. “Nico?”

No response. He tries again, knocking harder, calling louder until Nico groans and yell out an angry “What?”

“I'm sorry.” Percy mumbles, hand still resting on the door. “Whatever I did to make you mad at me, I'm sorry.”

“You didn't do anything.”

Percy frowns. “Then why did you shut me out? Why won't you talk to me?”

“This is for your own good.” Nico says, voice muffled by the door.

“What does that even  _ mean? _ ” Percy groans banging his forehead against the door. “That doesn't make any sense! How could doing this be for my own good? I'm kind of suffering now. I can  _ feel  _ you in my head, but I can't get to you because you blocked me for some insane reason. And I feel empty because you aren't there, even though I know you are, but the rest of me doesn't know that, so I feel like crap.”

“I'm sorry.”

“Don't be sorry, just get out here.”

“No.” Nico growls. “I told you, I'm trying to protect you.”

“From  _ what?” _

“From me.”

Percy blinks for a second, hoping that Nico will elaborate. When no such thing happens, he asks Nico to explain.

“I had a dream last night.” Nico says, his voice still muffled, but closer, like he's right next to the door. “More of a nightmare. But you were in it, and you got hurt because of me. And the worst part is that even though I don't want it to, if I don't stay away from you, that dream...it'll become a reality.”

“What are you talking about?” Percy sighs. “You wouldn't hurt me, I know that.”

“How?”

“Because I trust you.”

Nico scoffs. “That's a horrible reason. Why would you trust me?”

“Because we're Linked.” Percy says, simply. “Because I've seen your life and I know that you would never hurt someone unless they made you. I  _ know  _ you.”

“You don't know enough.” Nico says, tone indicating that this conversation is over.

Percy groans, hitting his head on the door again, before he mumbles that he's going out for some air and that he'll be back later. He walks out of the dorm feeling hollow, and he sighs. Why would Nico think he would hurt him? Does Percy really not know enough about him? Nico did block away a lot of his life. Maybe he's been through more than Percy knows, maybe he's going through it now and he's just hiding it. Maybe he's trying to suffer in silence.

Percy groans again, loudly. He needs help.

* * *

 

How he ended up in the common room of Asphodel Hall, he has no clue. He knew he needed help, and apparently his brain thought that he needed the help of Nico's scary sisters. In any case, he's here and now that he's thinking about it, it isn't a horrible idea. Nico sisters probably know what's going on, and they could help, maybe. Hopefully. 

“So what are you doing here?” Nico's twin, Bianca  asks. She's sitting across from him, on the floor, the other sister- Hazel- sitting on the couch behind her.

“And where's Nico?” Hazel questions.

“He's at our dorm.” Percy mutters, feeling guilty under Hazel’s gaze. “Locked in his room, refusing to come out.”

Bianca frowns. “What did you do?”

“That's just it! I have no idea.”

“What do you mean you have no idea?” Bianca asks, warningly.

Percy gulps. “I mean he says I didn't do anything but I feel like I did, because his other reason doesn't make any sense at all. I mean, why would he think I'm in danger just by being near him. He wouldn't hurt me, right?”

“Okay.” Hazel sighs. “Rewind here. Plot, story, details, tell it.”

Percy nods, calming himself down enough to explain. The more he says, he deeper Bianca frowns. When he's finished, Bianca looks like she's ready to punch something, and Hazel’s hand is clenched in the cushion of the couch.

“It's happening again.” Hazel muttered, mouth clamping shut when Bianca slaps at her leg. 

“What's happening?” Percy asks, worried.

“Nothing.” Bianca says, too quickly to be true.

“But you said-” 

“Nothing.” Bianca says again, eyes narrowing in an intense way that apparently only the di Angelos are capable of.

Hazel sighs. “Just tell him. He's Nico's guardian and they're going to be stuck with each other forever and he needs to know eventually.”

“If Nico wants him to know, Nico will tell him.” Bianca hisses.

“In case you haven't been listening, Nico is holed up in his room and won't even speak to Percy. He won't tell him a damn thing and you know it.”

“Guys.” Percy interrupts. “Could you stop talking about me like I'm not here?”

Hazel and Bianca have a staredown for a moment, both of them glaring into each other's eyes before Bianca grunts and crosses her arms, turning to glare at the wall. “Fine.” she says, rolling her eyes. “Tell him.”

“Thank you.” Hazel sighs, rolling her eyes at her sister, before she sets her gaze on Percy. “This isn't the first time that this has happened. Every once in awhile, Nico just wakes up like this. He's never told us why but Bia and I have our theories. He shuts out everyone close to him for a while, but he always snaps out of it after a day or two. How long has this been going on?”

“Nine days.” 

Hazel chokes. “That's not normal, you must have done something.”

“I didn't do anything! He just shut me out and stopped talking to me.”

Hazel sighs, glancing at Bianca, signalling for her to say something. Bianca clears her throat and shrugs. “Usually, we try to talk to him. Get him to go back to normal. But since he's probably still upset about me becoming a Huntress and Hazel has to help Frank with his shapeshifting, we can't really try that.”

Percy frowns. “How do you know he's mad? And how do you help someone practice shapeshifting?”

“I've known him since birth, I know when he's lying. I just went along with it since you were there and figured that we could talk later.” Bianca says.

“And I help Frank with his shapeshifting by yelling out things to turn into. And I kind of promised, and this'll be like the fourth time I've skipped out on him so…” Hazel trails off with a nervous smile.

“Does Nico have any other friends? Someone who can try to talk him out of this since it's obvious that talking to you isn't helping.” Bianca says, leveling Percy with another guilt inducing glare.

Percy nods nervously. “He has one…”

* * *

 

When Nico hears the knock on his door, he immediately thinks that it's Percy back for another try to make him come out of his room. So he reacts accordingly, telling Percy to go away because he's made up his mind.

“Not Percy.” Leo's voice comes through the door, and Nico freezes.

“Leo?” he asks. “What are you doing here?”

“What do you think?” Leo scoffs. “Can I come in or not?”

“No.” Nico frowns. “No one can come in. I'm not letting anyone in.”

“Either you let me in, or I will pick the lock on this door.” Leo threatens.

Nico sighs, not knowing if Leo's kidding and not really wanting to find out. He stands, walking to his door and unlocking it before yanking it open to reveal a smiling Leo. “What?

“I said let me in.” Leo grins. “Then we talk.”

Nico moves to let Leo into his room and closes the door behind him. “Okay, what do you want?”

“Percy said that you blocked him off and stopped talking to him.”

“I did.”

“Did that dream really affect you that much?”

Nico frowns, before he laughs. “Percy told you about that too huh?”

“Nope.” Leo says, popping the ‘p’ in the word.

“Then how did you-”

“I had the dream too. Just a different demon, and different corpses.” Leo shrugs, as if such a thing is normal to say. 

Nico freezes, body going rigid and icy. “You're a-”

“Vessel.” Leo confirms, with a nod. “But you already knew that.”

“How-?”

“I saw that book you had with you when you came to make friends with me.” Leo shrugs. “Ancient Demonic History 101. I checked that book out from the library a couple days before you did, I read it after I met you. I had suspicions that you might be like me, and I wanted to see what I was getting myself into. But let's get back to the problem at hand. You know that I'm a vessel, but let's focus on what you don't know.”

“What I don't know…?”

“Precisely.” Leo shrugs. “Come on, sit.” He sits on Nico's bed, patting the space next to him until Nico moves to sit down. “This is something I do whenever I have dreams like that. I think of all the things I know and all the things I don't  know. So what do you know? About your friends, family, hopes and dreams. Go on, tell me.”

Nico frowns, not quite getting the point of this. “I don't understand.”

“We'll, start with your name.” Leo smiles, urging Nico to talk.

Nico shrugs. “Okay..my name is Nico di Angelo, I'm two hundred and fifteen years old. My father is the king of Inferos and I'm the crown prince. I don't want to be king, never did. I'd rather be anything but. I have two sisters, one twin, Bianca, and a half sister, Hazel. I'm a vessel, compatible with the demon of Death. I don't know if I have a lot of friends, just people I've met. But I guess in a way, I have two friends. My guardian and you, Leo. I don't know if I have any hopes or anything. Being attached to an ancestral demon that's locked in your heart and is eventually going to kill you, makes it kind of hard to have life goals. But if I had to pick one, I'd say that my aspiration, is to be happy.”

“That's great!” Leo grins, patting Nico's shoulder. “Now how about something you don't know.”

“I'm still confused on that part. There's a lot of stuff that I don't know.”

“I'll help.” Leo offers. “For starters, you don't know when that demon inside of you is going to come out. You don't know where you'll be when it happens, who you'll be with. You don't know who you'll meet, if you'll ever find happiness. You don't know why you're blocking Percy out.”

“I'm doing it to protect him from me.”

“No you aren't.” Leo sighs. “I've been through this before, Nico. I've seen that look in your eyes, in my own. I know for a fact that you don't want to shut him out, if anything you want the opposite. You want him to like you, want to get close to him. I know the feeling. I know you're scared of hurting someone, someone you care about, someone you love. But I also know that if you want to get to that goal of yours, you have to stop being so cautious. If your childhood was anything like mine, you were sheltered, told that in order to keep  _ them  _ safe, you had to follow the rules, be a good little vessel. But the thing is,  _ we're _ the ones with a demon in our chests. Not them. So shouldn't we be allowed a little freedom , a little room to breathe easy and just have fun? I mean, we're going to die anyway, so why not, right?”

Nico shrugs. “I guess.”

“Alright. So now you know what you know and don't know. But now that you know all that, what are you going to do?”

“Live my life the way I want to?” Nico guesses, figuring that he's right when Leo smiles.

“And you're going to start by letting your guardian back into your head.” Leo says, leaving no ro for argument. “He looked like a lost Hellpuppy when he came and got me.”

Nico laughs at the mental imagery of such a statement, before he does as he's told and unblocks Percy. The moment the mental wall is dropped, Percy's presence rushes at him, filling his head with happy squeals, laughter and the occasional ‘if you ever do that again’. Percy himself rushes at him the second he opens his door, the nymph apparently having sat on the floor outside of Nico's room until Nico decided to come out. 

“Please don't do that again.” he begs with a smile. “And just so you know, we're going to talk about this. Add this to the ever growing list of things that we need to talk about.”

Nico sighs, giving in when Percy levels him with a playful glare. “Fine. But, can we do it later?”

“As long as we talk about it eventually, I don't care.” Percy laughs. “Now who wants lunch?

* * *

 

“You haven't told him yet?”

Nico stares out the window of his room, watching the lanterns on either side of the street begin to light up, illuminating the darkened street. He watches a few students walk around, bustling to either get to their dorms or elsewhere. He sighs. “It hasn't exactly come up in conversation. And I don't really want to bring it up.”

“Maybe it hasn't come up, but this is something that's going to make him suspicious.” Leo says, arms crossing. “He already is suspicious. He doesn't know why you shut down, and I'm sure that you've given him other reasons to be worried like I did to Jason. I think just coming out and telling him could help.”

“I thought that too.” Nico says with a head shake. “But he has a complicated history with vessels. His home was destroyed by one, and I don't want to think about how he'll react if he finds out that I'm a vessel. I hate lying, and keeping this from him, but I think it's better that he doesn't know.”

“How long are you planning to keep it hidden?” Leo asks. “You've been here like three weeks, and already your demon is trying to screw this up.  And you're stuck with Percy for the rest of your life. He's going to be there every step of the way, and you're just going to keep him in the dark about this?”

“I don't know.” Nico groans, grabbing at his hair. “Everything is so messed up. I don't know why that dream was different when I've had it so many times before. I don't know what it means, and I'm freaking out.”

“You think I'm not?” Leo asks. “I saw my father, my friends, my guardian, dead. I don't want that to happen. But I know that whatever time I have left with them, I don't want it to be spent keeping secrets. You should tell him.”

“I want to.” Nico sighs. “I really do. He deserves to know. But I don't know how to tell him, or how he'll react, and he's the first real friend I've ever made, I don't want him to hate me because of this.”

Leo nods. “I get it. Tell you what. If you ever need to talk, just come find me. I'll help you figure out how to tell him, okay? And if he gets mad at you, I'll clock him in the head.”

“I don't want him to be mad at all.” 

“We'll work on it.” Leo says, offering a smile. “In the meantime, I have a test to study for, and the day is almost up. And I've been away from Jason for most of the day. I'd better get back before he gets worried.”

“Wait, we have a test?”

Leo snickers as he walks out. “Yep, and it looks like we're both screwed.

Nico groans, hitting himself with a pillow as he curses in his head. He can hear Percy laughing downstairs, no doubt hearing his anger and he sighs. 

Leo's right. Vessel or not, this is still his life, and he's going to take it back, one step at a time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter coming up! (And sorry for the heavy, but it's plot so it's necessary.)


	15. Chapter Nine: Vent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah! Second chapter to make up for missing two weeks! Yay me!

“So I'm the only one that knows?”

“Yep.” Leo leans back in his chair- which wasn't there the last time Nico was here, he must've just gotten it. “I've been blocking Hattie off from Jay and I haven't told anyone about me being...you know.”

Nico frowns. “Hattie?”

Leo shrugs. “I think calling her Hatred all the time is a bit depressing so I call her Hattie.”

“She lets you do that?”

“She can't make me stop.” Leo's eyebrows pop up as a smirk makes its way onto his face. “She might be able to end my life, but she can't tell me what to do while I'm still living.”

“What's she like?”

“Hattie?” Leo asks, with a bit of a laugh. “Oh she's great. A real charmer, you know, when she's not putting me down constantly or pissing me off to the point that I accidentally light stuff on fire. She's almost always mad about something, but that's to be expected. Her name _is_ Hatred after all. She's also the mother of almost all the monsters in Hell- they don't put that in textbooks, but she likes to brag about it a lot- and that helps a bit. At least I know I won't die by a monster attack, right?”

Nico isn't sure if he's happy or angry, so he just kind of nods and agrees. “Yeah, Death is that way too, except he loves to keep reminding me that I apparently need him. He's just really good at being a jerk.”

“Aren't they all?” Leo chuckles, sitting up to grab a pen and begin to twirl it. “But we gotta deal with ‘em. I get the feeling that hearing me whine isn't why you really came here though.”

Nico blinks. “I can't just want to visit a friend?”

“Of course you can.” Leo chuckles, pencil spinning between his fingers. “But I'm not stupid, and I know that you came to ask about something other than my demon. Am I right?”

Nico smirks. “You just read me like an open book, don't you?”

“You are an open book. Some people just don't take the time to look at all the right pages. So what's up?”

Nico sighs. “You said that I need to live my own life, and I understand that. But understanding and doing are two different things. I'm not quite sure how to go about it.”

“Just have fun.”

Nico frowns deeply, wringing his hands as Leo bursts into laughter.

“You don't know how to have fun, do you?” Leo's tone is teasing, and Nico growls, sputtering about how he was  sheltered all his life and never had a chance to do anything without someone watching him.

“I'm not being mean, I promise.” Leo snorts, hand waving at his face to ward off the tears- that’s how hard he had laughed. “It's just- well, someone who doesn't know how to have fun? That's a little unbelievable. And the fact that I know it's true, just makes it hilarious.”

“Stop laughing at me.” Nico pouts- the first time he's ever done such a thing actually.

“I'm not, I swear.” Leo chuckles. When Nico frowns even deeper, he holds his hands in the air. “Okay, okay. I'll help, just put away the angry eyes, they're killing me.”

Nico stops frowning, face going neutral and Leo puts his hands down.

Leo sighs, twiddling his thumbs for a moment before deciding that the pencil was better and starts twirling it again. “So, you don't know how to have fun? Like, at all?”

“I do but..” Nico looks for a way to end that sentence that won't make him seem lonely and pathetic, but since he can't find one, he shakes his head. “....my sisters were always the ones who started it. I don't know how to have fun on my own.”

“Then it's a good thing that you're never going to be on your own again, isn't it?”

“Huh?”

Leo blinks. “Dude, guardians are there for life. You can't just give someone a space in your head, and then expect them to be okay without it. You and Percy are stuck with each other, death do you two apart. Even if everyone else in Hell gives up and leaves you, he'll be there.”

“That has nothing to do with this.”

“Yes it does.” Leo grins. “You said you didn't know how to have fun on your own, but you'll never be on your own, you'll have Percy.”

“Still don't know how to have fun, Leo.”

Leo groans dramatically. “Can't win with you, can I? Tell you what, this weekend coming, I was going to go home and visit my dad. There's a festival going on at home and I wanted to see him while there were good vibes going around. I already told the headmistress about it. It was supposed to just be me and Jay, but I don't think he would mind if I brought two extras.”

“What would your dad say?”

Leo shrugs. “Don't know, don't really care. I'm going to see him, and if he doesn't like you being there, he doesn't have to focus on you. Are you coming?”

Nico frowns. “I'll have to talk to Percy about it, see if he has anything to-” his sentence is interrupted by a loud chorus of _yes_ in his head from Percy.

_Were you eavesdropping?_ He asks.

_Maaaybe._

Nico sighs. “Nevermind, he says yes, we'll go.”

“How did he even hear me?” Leo snickers. “Was he-?”

“Eavesdropping?” Nico smirks. “Yes. But I guess we're coming with you.”

“Sweet.” Leo grins. “Meet us the station around noon, and pack for warm weather. Sýfrî is pretty hot.”

* * *

 

“Goodness gracious, it's hot.” Percy laughs as he sits back in his seat. “We aren't even there yet and I feel like I'm roasting.”

Leo chuckles. “I warned you.”

“You warned Nico, I was never informed of this heat.” Percy makes sure to elbow Nico in his side, sending a teasing smirk his way.

Nico rolls his eyes turning his gaze to the window. When Leo had said that Sýfrî was hot, he wasn't kidding. He can see Percy and Jason sweating, and he isn't doing much better- at least he isn't that sweaty. It even _looks_ hot. Nico had looked out the window pretty much the entire train ride, watching as the terrain went from cool reds and sharp blues and purples to fiery oranges and yellows and the occasional splotch of green. Felt it as his body went from cool to heated and sweaty.

He can see banners hanging on buildings as they get closer, flags waving in the hot wind, red and orange, a few white. There are crowds of demons gathered around a few of the buildings, chanting and cheering as they wave flags with the emblem of the city on them; a hammer in front of a black flame.

“So what's this festival called again?” Percy asks, after trying to look out the window.

“The Festival of the Flame.” Leo replies proudly. “It celebrates the city's history with parades and all that fun stuff.”

They stay silent as the train stops, letting the other passengers out before grabbing their things and leaving as well. Nico can already hear Percy complaining in his head about the heat, even as Leo whoops about it and races around excitedly. Nico takes in his surroundings as Leo leads them through the city, shedding his jacket and tying it around his waist.

The city of Sýfrî is almost exactly as Leo described it on the train. Loud, boisterous, kind of overpopulated, and intensely welcoming. The demons here are much more friendly than the ones that Nico is used to. (Then again, the ones he's used to, know what he is and fear him for it, so the comparison is a very thin one.) Many of them seem to know Leo, stopping him and striking up happy conversations, reminiscing on old times.  Leo introduces the three of them more times than Nico can- or wants to- count, and by the time Leo leads them to where they're going, Nico is just about done with pleasantries.

Leo leads them to a small warehouse away from the city. The door to the warehouse- with a faded emblem that Nico can't distinguish- rings loudly when Leo knocks on it. The door opens slowly, the gruff voice of a man speaking from behind it.

“Who's there? What do you want?”

“Dad?” Leo asks softly, timid, so unlike his usual self. “Dad, it's me. I came to visit you for the festival.”

A grunt, and the door closes loudly, making Leo flinch. He sends a nervous smile towards their way, mumbling that his father is usually like this. There are a few loud clicks and clangs, then the door is yanked all the way open, revealing an almost deformed man. His shoulders are uneven, making him appear to be leaning, his head is bulging, misshapen. His face is reddened, and kind of lumpy, most of it covered in hair, the top part made of bushy eyebrows, the bottom covered in a beard just as bushy as his eyebrows. The hair on his face is dark, soot covered and matted, sparks of flame caught between the hairs. His teeth are a bit crooked when he smiles nervously at his son, voice loud, booming.

“Hey kid.” he says, almost awkward. “Haven't seen you in a while.”

“Almost three years.” Leo answers with a sigh. “I wanted to see you while there were good vibes going around. Figured that the time of the festival would be a better time than any.”

“As good as it is to see you son, you shouldn't have come.” the man sighs brown eyes flicking to the space behind Leo, brows furrowing as he frowns. “Who are they?”

Leo blinks, looking behind him with a smile. “Dad, these are my friends, Jason, Nico and Percy. I brought them along with me to see the festival.”

“And lemme guess, you all wanna stay here?” Leo's father said knowingly, scoffing when his son shrugs. “Don't touch anything.” he says, almost coldly, moving to let them enter.

Nico flinches as the door shuts behind him, the room going into darkness for a second, before lamps on both sides light up, one by one. Leo's father shuffles ahead, squeaks accompanying every other step, due to a metal brace around one of his legs.

Leo had said that his relationship with his father was complicated, and Nico believed him. It was obvious that his father was uncomfortable in his son's presence, almost as much as Leo was. One thing was certain though. Even though Leo looked almost nothing like his father, it was obvious that they were related in some way.

As the lights illuminated the warehouse, Nico realized that Leo and his father were very much alike. The room that Leo used to tinker, was almost an exact replica of the one they stand in now, just smaller. The same chaotic kind of organization that Leo had, could be seen here. Tools were strewn about, random clanks and loud noises could be heard from somewhere in the warehouse. But despite the- many- similarities, this warehouse was even messier than Leo's. There were large pieces of scrap metal lying around, wires still sparking and a fire in the center of the room. Glass lays on a table, a few pieces shattered on the ground.

“Geez dad.” Leo whistles lowly. “You really let this place go, didn't you?”

His father sighs, tossing a piece of paper on the floor so he can move a chair out of the way. “I know.” he says wearily as he pats out a flame beginning to spark in his beard. “I tried to keep it in shape for a while. But without your mother-”

“Right.” Leo interrupts, voice soft and bitter. “I forgot about that.”

“I can't.”

“Well!” Percy pipes up, voice squeaking a bit before he clears his throat and tries again. “Is there a room where we can put our stuff down or-?”

Leo answers. “Yeah, I'll take you there.” He starts leading them away, down a passage, letting all of them go in front. Nico is the last to pass him, so he hears him mutter to his dad about how they won't be much trouble, and that he's sorry.

* * *

 

“Your dad seems...distant, to say the best.” Jason mutters, as he sets his bag down on his bed.

Leo shrugs. “He's been that way for a while. Don't know why I thought that visiting him during the festival would make things any better.”

“You're trying, and that's all that matters.” Percy replies, sitting on the floor in front of Nico's legs, while Nico himself has himself seated on the edge of the bed that Leo claimed. “At least you came back, right? He can't be mad forever.”

“I wouldn't bet on that.” Leo sighs, grabbing a shirt and putting it in one of the open drawers. “He can hold a grudge when he wants to. I've seen him do it before.”

“Why is he even mad at you?” Nico asks. “He seemed happy enough to see you when we first got here, even if he was a little freaked out. How could that change so fast?”

“Let's not worry about that now.” Leo chuckles. “I had a feeling that this might happen. But we're here for the festival, and I intend to enjoy it as much as I can. We got here just in time for the fireworks in the town square. After we catch those, we can walk around the markets and get some food, I know a guy who makes some mean spirit soup. Best you'll ever have.”

At the mention of food, Nico hears Percy's stomach growl, and he smirks. “I think Percy likes that last part.”

Jason and Leo laugh, while Percy covers his stomach with his hands, explaining that he hasn't eaten for almost the whole day, his excuses unheard over the laughter, and the tense atmosphere fades.

* * *

 

The fireworks are a thing to behold. They aren't just fireworks, as they move once they explode into the sky. Dragons made of red sparks, come to life, moving into the crowd with awe inspiring movements. A handful of Rocs unfurl their wings, made of blue and white sparkles, flying across the sky in formation. For the finale, all the beasts created with the fireworks, glide into one another, the different colored sparks creating a Phoenix, the wings of the Phoenix spreading and unleashing a wave of fire-like light. The citizens cheer at this, waving their flags as they do so, and even Nico cheers along with them.

He can feel the elation of his guardian, cheering beside him loudly, and for a moment, however brief, he can see himself. He's smiling, cheeks kind of flushed, eyes almost shining from the light of the fireworks. His bangs are framing his face, making him look kind of like a painting. The image is accompanied by the single, thought of _Beautiful_ whispered in Percy's breathless voice in his head. The thought makes him turn his head in surprise, to see Percy staring right at him, eyes wide and cheeks pinkish. His hair is windblown, the pupils of his eyes almost completely overtaking the green irises. He smiles, teeth white and shiny, and Nico has to look away, the sight almost too much for him to take.

Leo takes joy in taking Jason by the hand, pulling him along through the markets in the square, Percy doing the same for Nico. Nico starts focusing less and less on the delicacies that Percy offers him, and more on how he looks as he does it. There are lanterns lit along the streets of the city, the light just enough to see in front of him. But the low lighting just makes it easier for Nico to hide the many glances he finds himself making at the bouncing guardian by his side. It also makes it easier to look away when he gets caught, and to believe that the tingling feeling on his spine, is _not_ Percy staring at him.

Their evening ends peacefully, with a quiet walk back to the warehouse. Their path isn't as lit as the city square had been- and still is- so they stumble quite a bit, all of them having to catch one another at least three times.

_That was fun._ Percy laughs, the sound bouncing into Nico's mind, as a warmth spreads through his body. _I never fireworks could do that._

_Me either._ Nico replies, watching his footing when he hears Jason almost go to the ground- accompanied by the sound of Leo's laughter. _And Leo said that we have two more days of this._

_I'm gonna have a tan before we leave here._

Nico raises his eyebrows, though he knows that Percy probably can't see the action. _Don't you already have a tan?_ He thinks, picturing Percy and his nearly perfectly tanned skin.

_That's just my natural skin tone._ Percy chuckles. _My village was pretty much an island, so I've always been tan. But out here with this heat and pretty much no shade, I'm going to get even darker._

_How dark?_

_Dunno._ Percy hums. _The last time, I got pretty dark. So much that when Jay came back from a week of classes, he didn't even recognize me._

_Wow._

_Yeah, it gets pretty intense sometimes._ Percy pauses. _Do you tan?_

_Not as much as you do, but sometimes, yeah._

_Is it weird that I kind of want to see that?_

Nico shrugs, though he chides himself for the motion because he knows for a fact that Percy can't see. _I don't think so. It'll probably be weird seeing me as my not so pale self._

Nico snorts as he hears Percy squawk as he tumbles to the ground, but his moment of laughter is short lived when he himself trips and falls. Percy snickers at him as he stands, and Nico can hear Leo go down in front, dragging Jason with him if the way he yelps means anything.

They make is back to the warehouse without too many injuries- though that last fall had earned Jason a nice scratch on his knee, and Leo had a matching one on his forehead. They spend a few extra hours talking amongst themselves, Leo deciding the end it once he can't get through more than five sentences without yawning. (He actually falls asleep a couple times, and Jason ends up carrying him back to their room.)

When it's just the two of them, Percy flops on the bed he had claimed when they came in, grinning. Nico starts changing into his pajamas, saying that Percy should probably do the same.

“I'm not even sleepy.” he complains, even as he tears off his shirt and starts rummaging in his bag for his pajamas. “I could stay up for like, three more hours.”

“You do that.” Nico says, climbing into bed and shutting off the light. “But I'm going to sleep.”

Percy lets him lay there for about ten minutes, maybe fifteen, before he's sitting up, asking Nico if they can talk.

“Talk later.” Nico mumbles. “Sleep now.”

“Please?” Percy insists. “It's important. And if I don't say it now, I'm afraid I won't ever get the chance.”

Nico sighs, the sound turning into a tired groan as he sits up and rubs his eyes, reaching to turn the lights back on. “Okay, what do you want to talk about?

“You, and me. Us. And this weird system that we have that works most of the time but doesn't other times and leaves me really confused.”

“You're going to have to explain further.”

“It just seems like every time something is going good with the two of us, something happens to mess it up. First, we were getting along, then you realized that your sister was becoming a Huntress and got depressed for a while. Then I tried to help you control your powers, and you freaked out and wouldn't tell me why. And then, you had some dream that made you block me away for nine days. I don't know what I'm doing wrong but-” Percy groans. “- I don't know. When I saw you at that fireworks show tonight, I couldn't help thinking that this was one of the best days I'd ever had. And then I started to wonder if something would go wrong to ruin this too.”

“You think you're doing something wrong?” Nico asks.

Percy laughs humorlessly. “I have to be. There's no other explanation that I can think of.”

Nico shakes his head, moving the blankets off of him. “It isn't you, trust me. All this...it's my fault. I'm the one that keeps messing things up. I keep trying to make things right, but I keep making it worse.”

“You can talk to me, you know that right?”

Nico nods, rubbing his face as lets a breath out through his nose. “I know that in my head. But actually doing it is a lot more difficult than I could have imagined. I've never had anyone to talk to all that much. Bianca and Hazel were there, but sometimes, they just didn't understand. I usually just had to tough it out.”

“You don't have to do that anymore.”

Nico sighs. “It's habitual.”

“Well, let's break the habit now.” Percy says, hopping out of his bed and throwing himself onto Nico's, almost falling off of it with the way that he bounces. “Come on, spill. What's going on in that head of yours?”

“I don't even know where to start.”

“Just start from the beginning. Going here and being Linked. Everything. If you have stress about it, let it out. Vent.”

Nico lays back down, staring at the pattern of the ceiling, eyes following the swirls as he tries to think of what to say. Percy had said start from the beginning, from the very second that he stepped foot on campus, and even before if need be, so that's what he does. He doesn't say it out loud, because doing so makes it less personal in a way, and he imagines that if Percy wants to talk, he wants it to be personal, to the point that it's almost intimate.

He keeps that in mind as he uses his Link instead, letting every safe memory flow. The feeling of irritation at being tricked into coming here, the comfortable atmosphere that surrounds him around Percy. The soft airy feel of his Link whenever he searches for it, a glowing halo to latch onto. He relives the feeling of being disconnected, the underlying distaste of being alone in his head again, overwhelmed by the fear of being pushed away, or something worse. He lets go of so much, that when memories with Death in them start making their way into the flood, it takes him a second to notice and freeze it. He sees the look on Percy's face, the wide eyes, dropped jaw. Percy saw it, felt it. The dreams, almost everything. He _saw_ it.

_No._

Nico feels it as the world seems to collapse on him, the room closing in, walls getting closer and closer until it's hard to breathe.

_No._

“Nico” Percy calls to him, voice sounding distant even though he's right there.

_No. No no no no no._

_Nico,_ Percy tries again, trying for the mental approach, and visibly flinching when Nico slams their Link closed.

Nico jumps back, backing off the bed, breathing to keep the tears away. He needs to leave. He needs to get out of here now, before Percy starts asking questions, before he does what everyone else did. Before Percy can snarl at him and rip him apart with words that might just tear him to pieces.

Leo.

He needs to get to Leo. Leo can help, he just needs to move, make his legs obey him.

“Nico.” Percy starts. “Nico, what-?”

He doesn't get to finish. Nico's legs get themselves in gear before the second word, carrying him to the door, his arms yanking it open and slamming it closed again. His Link isn't all the way blocked, even though he tried his best to close himself off completely. It feels like Percy's trying to worm it back open, screaming and yelling, his mind slamming against the barrier. It hurts, hurts like hell, every step hurts more and more, but he keeps going, keeps walking.

Leo was wrong. His life isn't his own, he doesn't have any control. And now he may have just lost one of the few good things he had left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...I'm kind an asshole for doing this...and I usually hate it when it happens to me but I apparently love doing it to others...but cliffhanger!!


	16. Chapter Ten: Aella

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beware of the feels.

Nico doesn't feel the least bit sorry when he bursts through the door to the room that Leo and Jason are sharing. Nor is he embarrassed when his eyes adjust to the sudden rays of light, to see that Leo is sitting in Jason's lap, grinning. (Okay, he's a little embarrassed. But the crisis mode that his mind is in, doesn't give him time to feel embarrassed.)

Leo notices the panic on his face, and jumps up, rushing to ask what happened.

He tells Nico to sit down and explain, and Nico does his best to do so. He's sure he left some parts out, but the growing concern on Leo's face makes it clear that Leo understands. He shoves Jason out the door, telling him to go talk to Percy as he shuts it.

“He knows?” he asks, watching with wide eyes as Nico breaks down again.

“He'd have to be an idiot not to.” Nico nearly sobs. “I can't believe I just let something like that slip. How could I be so  stupid? ”

“It's not your fault.” Leo reassures. (Or tries to, because it isn't working.) “Your mind just slipped. You got comfortable.”

“I wasn't  supposed  to get comfortable.” Nico hisses. “My father always told me that getting comfortable leads to nothing but trouble. Getting attached leads to heartache, and another loved one with a target on their back.” He wants to scream, to fight and yell and punch and kick. He wants to throw a fit, go on a rampage and just...just. He just wants to give up. 

“He  hates  me.” Nico sighs, deflating. 

“You don't know that.”

“You didn't feel it.” Nico says with a head shake. “I blocked him off, but I couldn't close him off all the way. I could feel him calling out to me, slamming himself again the block. I've never heard him sound so…. angry.”

“He was angry because you ran away instead of talking.”

Nico flinches. “Talk? How can I talk to him now? Bad enough he knows, but now he knows that I lied, that I hid it from him. He knows how horrible I am, and he hates me for it.”

Leo closes his eyes, a small, hopeful smile sneaking onto his elvish features. “That's not what Jason is saying. He said that Percy's freaking out. He's worried.”

“Jason, doesn't have Percy in his head.” Nico spits. 

“He wants to talk.”

“The last time he said that, he ended up finding out what I am. I don't think talking is the best option.”

“What do you want to do?” Leo asks, after a few minutes of silence, choosing to watch Nico fold into himself and sob. “Right now, what do you want to do?”

Nico hugs himself tighter. “Run away. Cry. Punch something. I dunno. I kind of just want to go home, but I can't because then my dad will just look at me like I disappointed him. I want to lay here and cry until I can't anymore, but I can't do that either because this is your room, but I can't back into my room because Percy's in there, and he probably hates me. I don't know what to do.”

“You can stay in here.” Leo offers. “I can tell Jason to just stay in the other room with Percy for the night. Would that work?”

Nico nods, letting Leo move him up to Jason's bed. Leo tucks him under the covers, whispering that it'll be alright. That only makes Nico cry even more.

* * *

Percy isn't sure what hurts more, his heart, his head, or his hands. Obviously his heart feels like it's been stepped on a million times, his trust feels kind of misused, and to perfectly honest, he's ready to just go to sleep forever. His head hurts too, the beginnings of a headache starting to make itself known in the back of his skull. It feels like he has a blacksmith pounding away at his brain, trying to forge it into some kind of weapon. His knuckles are bruising slowly- that’s what happens when you punch a wall several times. They're going from tan to black and blue, some of the spots turning yellow and pale.

His breathing is harsh, chest heaving as he attempts to calm down. “I can't believe this.” he mutters, staring at his throbbing knuckles.

“He's a vessel?” Jason asks, voice low and eyes wide, like he's afraid. “How did we never notice?”

“He's good at keeping secrets.” Percy bites, frown growing. 

“Don't be like that.” Jason chastises. “I'm sure he had a reason for not telling you. He was probably just afraid of what you'd think.”

Percy scoffs. “What makes you think that?”

“Does he know about your village? What destroyed it?”

“....yeah.”

“Then he was probably scared that if you knew what he was, you'd hate him.”

Percy shrugs, seeing that Jason has a bit of a point. “I could never hate him. He knows that.”

“Does he?” Jason frowns. 

“He  has to.” Percy insists. “He's in my head, he- he has to know that I care, at least a little bit. Has to have some idea of how much-” he groans, holding his head in his hands. “-how much I really wanna slap him for doing this.”

“So...you  are  mad at him?” 

“Not at him. Not all the way at least, but mostly, I'm just mad at myself.” Percy growls. “No wonder there were so many blanks in his memory flow when we first Linked. He was trying to hide it. And that's why he freaked out when he was learning to control his powers. And why he blocked me out the first time. How could I have been so fucking  stupid?”

“You're not stupid.” Jason argues. “Are you loyal to a fault? Yes. Incredibly stubborn and thickheaded? Of course. A little oblivious at times? Absolutely-”

“You can stop insulting me anytime now.” Percy sighs.

“My point  is-” Jason says, with an eyeroll. “-while you have many,  many  faults, you are in no way, stupid. You didn't know because he didn't want you to. Leo's telling me that he's pretty messed up about this.”

“And I'm not?” Percy frowns. “I'm freaking out about this on the inside. But right now, I just want to talk to him.”

“Yeah, that's not gonna happen.” Jason says. “Leo says that Nico has no plans to talk anytime soon. He still thinks you hate him.”

Percy sighs. “I don't hate him. Do I really wanna make him hit himself with his own hands for not telling me sooner? Yes. But I can't hate him. Not after all I've seen about him.”

“He's not buying that.”

“I know he isn't. I can feel him trying to resist me.” He can. When Nico blocked him, their Link didn't close all the way, and Percy has spent this entire conversation trying to worm his way back through the holes in that wall. But every time he gets even remotely close to reaching out, there's this force that shits him back out again.

“Give him time to think this through.” Jason suggests. “Try to talk to him in the morning. Leo says that I'm bunking with you for the night, so we'd better get some rest. Got a whole new day of festivities tomorrow.” The last sentence is said in a hopeful tone, as Jason lies down and covers himself with the blanket. 

Percy sighs as he lays down as well, turning off the light as he does so. He tries again to Link with Nico, probing through their Link tentatively. When he doesn't get a response, he gives up, drawing his energy back to himself and closing his eyes.

* * *

Her name had been Ella, and she had been one of the nicest demons Percy had ever met.

She was shy, timid, and jumpy. She kept to herself and did her best to stay away from attention. She was extremely good at avoiding attention too, using her speed and agility to stay out of sight whenever she wanted. Her eyes had been a warm brown, her hair kind of stringy and red, matching the small feathers that made up the wings on her back. She had been one hundred and twenty years old, just a decade older than Percy had been when he met her, but while her age in years was small, the age in her eyes was much bigger. She was smart, always surrounded by books or something to read, and she was….eccentric in a way. 

When Percy meets her, she's sitting on the roof of an old house, amid towers of books, all of them stacked perfectly around her, with one in her lap. She's just closing her current book and reaching for a new one when she catches sight of him, and she tenses, book clenched tight in his hands. (Later, Percy would find out that the books were stolen, and she was worried that he would take them.) 

They become friends quickly, Ella teaching him strange things that she read in books and Percy teaching her how to be a kid. They ran and played in the mud and the water- Ella shrieked with joy every time Percy controlled it- and right when the sun- or what passed for one in Hell- was setting Ella would read to him. It was the only time that she would speak normally, as any other time, her words were clipped and fast spoken, sometimes the sentences were abandoned in the middle, in favor of saying something else. She spoke of herself in the third person, a habit that Percy never understood but liked anyway because it made Ella unique. 

One day, he'd asked her. Why books? And why so many? Her answer had been simple, short: “Words calm Ella down.”

He'd believed her. More than ever. When Ella was reading, it was like she was a whole new person. Her voice got louder and her eyes lit up and she looked confident in herself, like of the heroes in her books could face what they did, then Ella could do it too. So Percy believed her. 

What he didn't believe was that something so horrid could happen to a girl so sweet.

He'd gone looking for her, ready to begin another day of mud playing, only, she wasn't there. Usually she would be sitting on the roof of the house closest to the edge of the village, legs crossed and face buried in a book. She had been there every other morning, dress torn and frayed at the edges but still as vibrant blue as it was the first day they met. Usually, Percy would see her and call for her, watching as she jumped up excitedly, closed her book and jumped off the roof to land right in front of him. But there was none of that, because Ella wasn't there.

Percy looked everywhere for her. The market, the square, the school, the park, anywhere that she might have been, he looked. She was a wanderer when she wanted to be, her mind often too lost in the pages of a novel to care about where she was going. Maybe she just took a wrong turn or something. 

He found her eventually, on the other side of the village, away from all the people, sitting on the ground shivering. That was the first thing that struck him as odd. Their village was always hot, kind of muggy actually, so there was never much need for blankets or covers, but Ella was wrapped in at least three of them, and was still shivering. The second odd thing he noticed was that she was staring at the water, as if she wanted so badly to jump in. Her face was sad, sad like he'd never seen, almost...afraid. The last odd thing was that there were no books with her. None. Ella  always  had a book with her, no matter where she went or what she was doing. If they went swimming, she brought a book and left it on the shore. If they played in the mud, she left it as close to the puddle as she could get it without getting mud on it. She never left without her book.

When Percy asks her what's wrong, she tenses, eyes turning to him and widening, showing him pupils that most certainly do not belong to her. Unless he missed something, he was sure that Ella’s eyes weren't blood red. When she sees him, she flinches, the blankets coming off her body a bit, just enough to show black lines running over her skin. She stands, dropping the blankets entirely, showing that the lines are all over her. He can see that the back of her dress is torn out, revealing a blood spotted back, and a tattoo along with a healed scar. The tattoo is placed between the blades of her shoulders, dark and pulsing, the black bird seeming to spread it's wings, and the wider they get, the more the tattoo pulses.

Ella tells him to run, and her speech isn't clipped. She yells at him to run, says that she's dangerous. Tells him to get away before he gets hurt. He doesn't understand, he wants to help, but she won't let him. She shoves at him, hands grabbing at his clothes as she does so, like she wants him to stay but needs him to leave. He remembers taking a step back when she starts crying, remembers watching her legs give out from under her, sending her to the ground in tears. Remembers watching her claw at her back, starting to writhe and cry out, screaming that he needs to go  now.  He doesn't listen. He plants himself next to her and holds her, whispering that they'll get through this together. She refuses, doing her best to shove him away when he gets close.

He remembers the feel of her skin, so cold, almost like ice. He remembers the fear in her eyes, as she cried out, another pulse from her tattoo sending another wave of pain through her body. He remembers seeing her eyes go from red to black, slowly, the lines getting darker, swirling around her skin, remembers the sound of her voice as she pleads one last time.

The next time she speaks, the voice doesn't belong to her. It's too low, too gravelly, too...wrong. 

“Run little boy. While you still can.” it says, amused, laughing. “She wants to save you, but she can't even save herself. How pathetic.”

Percy takes a step back, another. “Ella?”

He remembers the fear that spread up his spine as Ella- or whatever had taken over her- stands, wings sprouting from her back, huge and black and looming. Nothing like her real wings. The smile on her face is cold, cruel, so unlike Ella’s usual smile, and Percy shivers.

“Run.” she smirks, and Percy does just that. He turns, and runs, doesn't stop until he hears the ear splitting scream, looks back and sees the beam of black energy rising into the air. 

Later, when the dust has settled, he learns that the demon she held was Vengeance. He learns that she was a vessel, and as time wears on, he comes to hate the word. When she died, Ella was viewed as a vessel, nothing more or less, and it angers him. Vessel, the word that turns demons into monsters. Ella was more than just a vessel, she was kind and shy, and smart. She was his friend. But being a vessel made people hate her. He hates that word so much, so much that it hurts whenever he hears it. Time goes on without her, people forget, but he can't. He won't forget, and he won't forgive.

* * *

 

When Nico wakes up, Leo is gone, his body replaced with a note, saying that he and Jason had gone out to grab some food and promising to bring some back. At the bottom of the note is a little P.S message, urging him to talk to his guardian. Nico snorts. Yeah, right, because Percy obviously wants to talk to the guy who lied to him for almost two months.

Two months. Nico sits back on the bed, frowning. It's been two months already? The time felt shorter than that, probably filled up with Percy and his antics, or school and the need to get good grades. He sighs, hands drifting to his stomach. He's hungry, and there's no telling when Leo and Jason will be back. 

He pokes his head out the door, checking the hallway, just to make sure Percy isn't there. He feels childish doing it, like he's playing a game of hide and seek, but he does it anyway. Avoiding Percy just seems like a better option than talking to him. He walks down the hall quickly, pausing when he hears movement and sighing when he sees it's just Leo's father. The man is multitasking, sandwich hanging from his mouth as his fingers work on the inside of a complicated looking machine.

“Good morning Mr. Valdez.” he yawns, resisting the urge to snort when Leo's father jumps and drops his sandwich with a curse.

“Good morning.” the man grunts, picking up his sandwich. “What are you doing up so late? Thought you woulda left with Leo and his friend. And call me Hephaestus. Stopped being Mr. Valdez a long time ago.”

Nico shrugs. “I decided to stay here. Not a fan of large crowds.”

“Young man, while I may not look like much, I have exceptional hearing. And that son of mine is a rather loud whisperer.” Hephaestus chews his sandwich for a moment. “Now I think you and I both know that I don't believe a word of that nonsense, so how about you just tell me the truth.”

Nico sighs, and goes about explaining, gauging Hephaestus’s reaction. He's surprised when Hephaestus laughs, a low chuckle that gets louder until he chokes. 

“I'm guessing he didn't take it well.” he says, once he regains his ability to breathe. 

“I wouldn't know.” Nico mumbles. “I blocked him off and left the room before he could react. 

Hephaestus chuckles. “Yeah, that's where you really messed up. Bad enough you kept it a secret, but refusing to sit down and talk about it is even worse.”

“I know, I know.” Nico huffs with a cross of his arms. “I just- he looked so surprised that I couldn't just- I didn't want to hear him say that he hated me.”

“Why would he hate you?”

“Because his home was destroyed by a vessel. And now he's mentally connected to one. Forever.”

“Were you the vessel who destroyed his home?”

Nico blinks. “No, but-”

“Was your demon the one who did it?”

“Pretty sure it wasn't, or else he'd have bragged about it. But that isn't the-”

“Then he should have no reason to be angry with you. At least not about you being a vessel.” Hephaestus says this as if Nico should already know, and he directs a raised, bushy brow at him with a bit of a crooked smirk.

Nico sighs, shaking his head. “I don't think it's that easy. And I don't want to know how he feels, because there's a chance he does hate me, and I don't want that.”

“I get it.” Hephaestus shrugs, as he eats the rest of his sandwich, chewing quietly. “You don't want to risk things going badly, so you're blocking everything out. Leo did it too. When he was first found compatible with Hatred,  he was terrified. When he was finally attached to her, he wouldn't come out of his room, was too afraid of hurting someone. Said that he could hear her, angry at everything, and he didn't want to hurt anyone. He locked himself away for so long, but nothing changed. Eventually his mother and I managed to get him to come out, but that only made things worse. He got even more scared, and he wouldn't talk to anyone. I didn't make things any better, instead of talking to him about it, I just sent him off to school. Figured that he could just make some friends, and break out of his shell.”

“I don't see the point.”

Hephaestus shrugs. “What I'm trying to say, is that I didn't talk about it, and it only made things worse. Someone once said that time heals, but they're a liar, because time just makes things worse. I gave myself and Leo time, and now everything between us is awkward and antsy. You give your friend time, and things will only get worse. Time lets you think, and the more you think, the more your head convinces you that things won't get better.”

Nico frowns. “So you think I should just talk to him now and not give him time to think about it?”

“I'm saying, that it would be best to explain things now, then give him time.” Hephaestus frowns deeply, his brows furrowing together. “Don't make the same mistake I did. Sit down and talk things through. Tell him everything, even the things you would never want him to know. Then, let him think.”

“I don't think he'll want to talk to me.” Nico mumbles, picking at his shirt. “He seemed pretty mad when I left.”

“Did you try to talk to him?”

“No.”

“Then how do you know he's mad? You don't, do ya?”

Nico blinks. “No, I-I guess not. But do you really think he'll be okay with me being...well, me?”

“He already is okay with you kid.” Hephaestus smiles. “He just didn't about all of you. Go on, talk to him.” The man gives him a light shove, jerking his head towards the direction of the hall. 

Nico sighs and starts back to the hallway, letting his feet work while his brain tries to think of something to say to Percy that won't make things any worse. He stands in front of the door, taking a breath before he knocks lightly. Too light apparently, since the door doesn't open, so Nico tries again, knocking harder this time. He flinches a bit when the door is yanked open, revealing a sleepy looking Percy. He rubs his eyes, blinking and yawning, scratching at his stomach before his eyes finally open all the way.

“Oh.” he mutters, once he notices Nico standing there. “Hey.”

“Hi.” Nico mumbles, deciding that staring at the ground is much better than staring into Percy's eyes. “Can we- can I just-” He groans, the sound almost a whine,  showing his frustration. 

“You wanna talk.” Percy says, and Nico mentally thanks him for being able to understand. 

He nods, picking at his shirt once again. “Yeah.”

Even looking at the floor, he can tell that Percy leans against the wall. “You didn't wanna talk before.” His voice is accusing, and Nico feels his chest clench, a pang of regret making him want to cry a bit. He shouldn't have done this, this was a horrible, terrible-

“But I guess I can't really blame you for that, so get in here.”

-wonderful, amazing, most beautiful idea he's ever had in his entire life.

Nico shuffles inside, jumping a bit when his shoulder brushes against Percy's. He sits on the closest bed, folding his legs and grabbing at his ankles as Percy takes a seat in front of him. 

“So, you're a vessel.” Percy starts, since Nico refuses to start the conversation. “That's an interesting development.”

“And you're pissed at me for not telling you.”

“No, I'm not.” 

Nico frowns. “I'm confused. I thought the natural reaction to being lied to, was anger.”

Percy shrugs. “Technically, you didn't lie, you just left out bits of the truth. And while I am pissed, it's not because you didn't tell me. I understand why you kept it secret. You saw what happened when I was younger, and you figured that it would be best to not upset me by letting me know. It took a minute for me to put it together, but I got that. What I fail to understand, is why you ran.”

“I didn't run.”

“You may as well have been sprinting  from how fast you got out of here.” Percy says with a pointed glance towards the door. “But you just ran off, and lately, that's been a habit of yours. Things get shaky and you either run from me or block me out entirely. That's why I'm angry. It's like you don't trust me, or you think I'll hurt you.”

“I'm not afraid that you'll hurt me, if anything it's the opposite. But to be fair, that's usually the outcome whenever someone finds out what I am.” Nico frowns. “My fear is a pretty rational one.”

“Yeah.” Percy nods. “But I think I'm the last being in Hell, that you should be afraid of. I couldn't hurt you, even if I wanted to. Hell, I can hardly be mad at you for longer than ten minutes. I tried, but every time I got pissed, I'd start thinking it over, and then I just couldn't be angry.”

“So, you're not mad?”

“Oh, no. I'm still pissed.” Percy laughs. “You'll just be feeling the anger in short bursts until I calm down again. Give me five minutes, and I'm sure I'll wanna scream at you again. But, I get it now. You were just scared of my opinion of you changing because there's an angry ancestral demon locked in your chest that's trying to break out.”

“Has it changed?”

Percy shrugs. “A little, but not in a bad way. Now that all the blanks in your memories are filled in, it's becoming a lot easier to really know you. Besides, I'm in your head, I see you how you see yourself, and it's kind of impossible to hate you after having a front row seat to your every thought.”

Nico sighs, letting of his ankles in favor of leaning back on his hands. “Thank goodness. I was convinced you never wanted to be near me again, let alone be in my head.”

“That reminds me.” Percy says, energy poking at the wall that Nico's held up since last night, probing slightly. “Could you maybe let me back in? It's pretty lonely up here.” he knocks on his head and Nico snorts as he lets the wall collapse, sighing at the airy feeling of Percy's conscience floating back into his.

“That's better.” Percy chuckles as he lays back, smirking as Nico winces from the tidal wave of anger, irritation and agitation that flows through the Link and into his brain. “Feels good to let that out.”

“I thought you weren't mad.” Nico groans, holding his head as it throbs a bit from the intense emotional assault that was Percy's thought process from the last day.

“I said you'd be getting it in short bursts. And if you think you've got it bad, just remember that that was my head all last night.”

“I guess I deserve it.” Nico shrugs. “I did kind of promise that I wouldn't block you out anymore.”

“I'm just glad I'm not alone in my head again. My brain gets real dark in the middle of the night.”

Nico snorts again. “Pretty sure you have nothing on how dark mine can get. Aside from you, there is one constantly annoyed demon who also has access to my mind. And he likes to mess with my sanity from time to time.”

Percy sits up, brows creased. “What's that even like? Having an actual demon in your chest all the time.”

“I would say that it's Hell, but we live in Hell, so that's a pretty lame thing to say.” Nico pauses when he catches the almost motherly glance that Percy hits him with, and he sighs. “I don't really know how to explain it. He's there. He doesn't want to be. One day, he's going to break out of me, killing me and anyone within ten feet of me, and destroying a little bit of Hell.”

“And you're okay with that?” Percy frowns, eyes going soft with sympathy. “You're okay with knowing that no matter what you do, you can't stop it?”

“I was scared at first. But after a while you have two choices. Either you let the fear consume you and stay away from anyone who could make your life worth living, or you could enjoy life, let things run their course, and hope that no one you care about is there when it happens.”

“And what did you choose?”

Nico blinks, staring Percy in the eye when he speaks. “For a long time, I picked the first one. But a friend of mine, made me see that the second option was a lot more enjoyable, so that's the one I'm with now.”

“So even though this catastrophe is going to happen anyway, and you've become numb to that, you're just going to live like you don't have an angry demon in your chest?”

“Yep.” Nico says, popping the ‘p’ of the word. “It's a lot less depressing that way.”

Percy laughs, smile staying even after he's stopped chuckling. “Then may I suggest that Your Highness and I get out of this warehouse, go find our friends, and actually enjoy the day instead of staying inside?”

Nico chuckles. “I approve your suggestion. Meet you at the front door in twenty.” He hops up and dashes out of the room, pausing to walk back in when he realizes that all of his things are there. Percy laughs at him, and he makes sure to throw a pillow at him


	17. Chapter Eleven: Shift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, this is literally just bonding. Kind of fluff but not enough for me to squeal about it. Enjoy the chapter guys!

“Do it again.” 

Nico frowns. “I've done it four times. I'm going to get drained.”

“Please?”

Nico sighs, setting his eyes on the shadow in the corner of the room. He makes his mind control it, bending into the shape of what Percy wants it to be. The black pegasus whinnies and flaps its wings, flying itself to Percy's side and butting at his hand. 

“Amazing.” Percy laughs, the sound kind of breathless. “How do you do it?”

Nico shrugs. “I dunno. It's hard. I can't force them to do what I want all the time. Shadows are fickle little things, mischievous, and they don't like to be held down. And the fact that my powers are tied to an angry ancestral demon, certainly doesn't help things. He likes to mess with my head, make it nearly impossible to control my powers, that's why I don't use them.”

“But you're doing so well now.”

Nico snorts. “Yeah, and now I want to take a three day nap. I told you that my powers drain me.” he relinquishes his hold on his powers, watching as the pegasus fades back into the corner. 

“Okay, then we change topics.” Percy says, simply. “So you can control shadows, and you have an angry demon in your chest. Anything else I should know about you?”

Nico thinks for a moment. “I have wings. And horns. And a tail. And a tattoo. Several tattoos.”

Percy blinks owlishly, before his jaw drops. “You have wings?”

Nico nods, scoffing because of  _ course _ that's what Percy focuses on. “Yeah.”

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“Because they're tied to the whole vessel thing, and up until four hours ago, that was a pretty sensitive issue for me. Still is.”

“Show me.” Nico can hear the excitement in his voice, sees it in his eyes when he jumps up, looking a bit like Hazel when she wanted him to do something. 

“Wha-?” Nico flinches away when Percy starts bouncing, visibly bouncing on his knees, making the bed beneath them creak a bit. 

Percy whines like a child. “Come on, please? Just once?  Please please please…”

“But they're binded away. I had them sealed when I had had Death sealed.” Nico's excuse doesn't make Percy change his mind, if anything, it just makes him grin wider, eyes shining brighter, and Nico is surprised at the speed of which his resolve is crumbling. He isn't kidding though, he really did have his wings sealed away when he got Death, the same week actually. They had started to get itchy, covering his seal tattoo in an uncomfortable way that made his skin kind of crawl whenever his feathers touched his chest. He knew that the feeling wouldn't last, his father had said it over and over- though Nico felt that it was just to reassure him- but for the time that it did last, it was nearly unbearable. So in a burst of annoyance, he made his father find someone to seal the appendages away, the tattoo being placed right behind the one that kept Death locked within him, all the way across his body, on his back. He hasn't let the seal break for all this time, and his wings had only just come in when he had them sealed. He suspects that either they didn't grow at all, or they did grow and are just immensely sensitive. After all, he hasn't had them out in about a hundred years. 

But the moment he makes the mistake of believing that he could look into a nymph that just so happened to be tied to his mental processes, he resolves falls quicker than him trying to walk quickly up steps. It only takes another two pleading little blinks of those oceanic eyes for Nico to give in completely. 

“Fine.” he sighs. “Just quit it with the eyes.”

Percy grins even more, practically buzzing with excitement with the amount of fidgeting that he seems to be unable to stop. 

Nico runs through his memory, trying to remember his father's instructions for breaking his seal, just in case he felt the need or the desire to do so. Something about using his powers to break it, making the shadows overwhelm the ones that kept his wings bound. Nico peels off his shirt, revealing both of his tattoos to make it easier. He knows that Percy is staring at the seal on his chest, the one that holds Death within him, but he doesn't dwell on it. He can feel his power fading, and it takes a moment for the shadows to respond, deciding to be stubborn before they finally give in and do as he asks. They make a slow crawl up his arm, wrapping up until they reach his tattoos, bypassing the first, the one that keeps his horns locked away, and touching the one further back. Nico shivers as they latch on, shivers even harder when he can feel them pounding at the seal until it cracks a bit. He can feel Percy's eyes on him, watching intently as his seal cracks even more. 

Nico feels the seal break all the way, feels it melt away, not really vanishing from his skin but diluting enough to let his wings be freed. He sighs when the shadows reattach themselves to the wall.

“You ready?” he asks Percy, just to make sure that this is what he really wants, because Nico is still hesitant. But the eager nod of Percy's head decides for him, and he closes his eyes as he lets his wings unfold from his back. He stretches them out, having to curl them in a bit because the room is just a bit too small to contain them. He hears Percy gasp, but he doesn't see it. He's found a particular interest in the floor. He feels it as each and every feather of his wings are examined, scrutinized almost and his wings tremble at the shiver that runs through him because of it.

“They're so…” Percy pauses, probably trying to find the right word to describe what he's seeing. “...they're amazing.” he says, almost too quiet to hear, but Nico does and he looks up. He has to see the look in Percy's eyes when he says it.

The intensity is enough to make him want to look back down. But he stays frozen, staring into eyes that pierce into his being. 

“Can I touch them?”

The question shocks him into movement, making his wings draw themselves in a bit as his anxiousness grows. He isn't sure about touching, as his second guess had been correct, and his wings are extremely sensitive. Even now, they tingle, the air that hits his feathers making them ruffle. The feeling is something akin to fire spreading in the tendons of his wings, up the bones and over the feathers, an inferno that he knows will only be worse if someone touches them. He tells Percy this and watches as he deflates a bit, excitement and wonder merging into concern.

“Does it hurt?” he asks, and Nico catches his fingers twitch, though to touch or comfort, he isn't sure. 

Nico shakes his head. “Not really. But I haven't had my wings out since the week after I got them, so they haven't been exposed to anything. They're just incredibly sensitive and the feeling is a bit more intense than I'm used to.”

“I'll be gentle.” Percy says, a promise that he seems to have every intention of keeping. He sits quietly while Nico thinks it over, patient for the first time that Nico has ever seen, hands in his laps as he waits, face too hopeful for Nico to possibly have a chance to resist for long. He sighs and shakes his head, making sure that Percy can hear him call himself an idiot for this in his head before he nods and Percy claps excitedly. 

Percy keeps his promise, waiting to let Nico bring his wings in so he has room to turn and sit down, back to his guardian. Percy even waits until Nico spreads his wings back out- though Nico suspects that he was just trying to look some more- and gives the verbal okay before his hands are there, fingertips grazing over black, shiny feathers. 

If Nico thought that his wings were sensitive before, it was nothing compared to now. He was right, touch makes the burning feeling even more intense, Percy's hands rekindling a flame that hadn't burned in years. The fire licks at every inch of his wings, from the base to the tips. Wherever Percy touches, the feeling goes from calm and controlled to a wildfire of nerves exploding. Nico can feel the rough edges of Percy's palms, calloused hands gliding over bones and marrow and he sighs, inhaling deep to keep from screaming at the intensity. He feels Percy's thumbs settle by his seal, placed just between his wings and when the pad of his thumb graze the seal, he tenses and jumps as the fire becomes concentrated in that spot. Percy jumps too, quick to apologize for causing pain and Nico shakes his head.

“Didn't hurt.” he says, lying a bit because it did hurt, but in a different kind of pain, like an ache. “Just not used to it.”

“I can keep going then?” Percy's voice is uncertain, hands held in midair.

Nico nods and the feeling is back, a bit less noticeable now that he's slowly growing used to it. Percy provides a good distraction as well, asking him questions to keep him from noticing the sensitivity. 

“Why did you have them sealed away?” 

“Will the sensitivity ever go away?”

“Have you ever tried to fly with them?”

“Why are there white feathers in here?”

“Will you lock them away after this?”

The last question makes Nico think. “I guess I could. But the seal wouldn't be all the way intact, so they wouldn't really be locked away, just stored. Sleeping with wings isn't very comfortable so I might have to put them away before bed. But if you want, I could have them out all the time.”

Percy's hands are gone, letting Nico turn to face him again. “That doesn't seem very practical.” he says with a smirk. “I mean, you'll be hitting them on all the walls, and they're so big that no one will be able to see in class.”

“I have to learn to get used to them some time.” Nico reasons. “I mean I have them, might as well use them. I'll keep them out for the time being, let them lose some of the sensitivity.”

Percy hums, eyeing the tattoo on Nico's chest. “So that one keeps Death in, and the one on your back is for your wings right?”

“Yep.”

“But you said that you had several tattoos, which would imply that you have more than just two. Where's the other one?”

Nico smirks.

* * *

 

Percy is starting to feel like he doesn't know a thing about Nico. First he thinks he knows everything about his past, then come to find out that he's only scraped the surface. Now, he finds out that not only does Nico have a tail, but horns as well. And beautiful black wings.

He's touched a lot of soft stuff in his two and a half centuries of life; Mrs. O’Leary’s fur, his mom's hair, the fur of a shadow cat that had been popping up around Jason's castle. But the feeling of Nico's wings against his hands was like no other. Those feathers had been so soft, so plush against his fingers. Every movement of his hands had his palms tingling. Every jerk of Nico's body had him on edge, wanting to grab and pull, but also not wanting to hurt. Even now, as he lays in soft silence of the room he will share with his charge until they're back at school, he can feel those feathers in his hands, soft and smooth and silky. His eyes still remember how they'd looked, the image burned in his mind, just a blink away. Mostly black, the same color of Nico's hair, his wings had been huge, stretching all the way across the room and still being too big. Most of the feathers were black, but the ones he really remembers are the white ones, the grays and mottled silver feathers that were placed so far and few in between, making the wings even more beautiful. 

Percy sighs, glancing across the darkened room to see Nico's form, his wings hanging off the bed, his tail wrapped lazily around his ankle.

That's right, Percy thinks. He has a tail too. 

First, Nico had showed him his horns, letting Percy touch them when they materialized on his head. (They had been smooth, like the rocks that Percy used to skip across the lake near Jason's castle. And sharp, he'd found when his finger pricked the tip and he started to bleed.) Then Nico had put his horns away and smiled sheepishly as he turned to reveal his last tattoo, having to tug the waistband of his pants down a bit for it to be fully visible. But when Percy saw it, he damn near choked. Right there, at the base of his back, right where his rear curved up to his back, was a tattoo, prominently contrasting against his skin. Nico had laughed at the choked noise that Percy had made, stating that it was pretty embarrassing for him to have it there, but it just made the most sense to have it there. 

He'd removed the seal with a practiced ease, the action taking a bit longer than before because his powers had drained him so much. But Percy had thanked him for it, thanked him for the opportunity to see, stuttering as the furry tuft on the end of Nico's tail brushed against his face playfully. 

Nico had laughed again, when he flinched back, then he froze as Percy smirked back and grabbed at his tail. Later- after he had calmed down and made his way back from the wall, where he had ended up after jumping across the room- Nico explained that his tail was sensitive as well, because like his wings, he hadn't had the thing out since he was young. Percy had taken the information into account when Nico finally let him touch. Nico's tail wasn't as soft as his wings, far from it actually. It was mostly scales, only a soft tuft of hair on the end. But still, as it wrapped around his wrist, showing just how vulnerable Nico was making himself by doing this, Percy reveled in it.

Still is, even as he just lays there, still a bit awestruck by what he's just experienced. He knows that Nico still isn't asleep, can still hear his thoughts, so he projects his feeling of awe onto Nico, watches with a sense of satisfaction as he tosses and turns in his sheets, face probably burning.

“Stop it.” he huffs aloud, tail twitching noticeably. “You're embarrassing.”

Percy puffs out a laugh, covering his face with his hand, and rolling over and tugging the blankets over his body. He drifts to sleep, thinking that Nico's last name makes sense.

* * *

Percy can't quite explain it, but he feels like something has shifted. He doesn't really know when he felt it, the undeniable change between him and Nico, all he knows is that it happened and it's making it very difficult to keep his thoughts clear so he doesn't embarrass himself. 

He guesses that it starts on the ride home. He and Nico sit next to each other, Leo and Jason sitting across from him. He knows for a fact that Nico hasn't gotten much sleep, because his thoughts are fuzzy and uncoordinated. He tries to stay awake for the whole ride back, and to his credit, he makes it about a fourth of the way before he's dozing off. Now this is where the issue comes in. Percy expects him to just lean back in his seat and conk out. Instead, Nico just leans over until his head is on Percy's shoulder. His wings are back in their seal, allowing him to sit comfortably in his seat, but his tail is still out, as he'd been too tired to put it back. Percy spends some of the ride just twiddling with it, wrapping it around his finger and waiting for it to squeeze when he does so, or winding it around his wrist. Eventually, that gets rather boring, and he goes back to staring out the window.

He can feel Nico's breath on him, which is weird because his mouth isn't anywhere near any of Percy's skin, but he can feel it and it makes him itchy. He knows for a fact that Nico is drooling a bit, can feel it puddle up on the fabric of his shirt, soaking into his skin a bit. But he refrains from looking, because somehow, he just  _ knows  _ that once he takes a glance, he'll be fixated and that's the last thing he needs.

He knows he falls asleep sometime during the ride, because when he opens his eyes again, Leo and Jason are gathering their things and snickering at them. Percy tries to wake Nico up, to no avail, and ends up having to carry him back to their dorm while Jason helps carry their bags, laughing quietly the whole time. He gets Nico to bed with little issue- though actually putting him into bed is a bit difficult, and he almost drops him- and he sends Jason on his way, after threatening him not to tell  _ anybody  _ about he and Nico taking a nap on each other.

The next time he feels the shift is when he's sitting in class with Nico, fingers tapping restlessly on the desk while Nico takes notes. He finds himself glancing at his charge every now and again, at the tail that flicks around as Nico's irritation slowly grows, at the way his teeth bite into his lip or his pen when he's thinking about a problem. Nico catches him staring a few times, frowning whenever he does and asking what's wrong. 

“Nothing.” Percy always says, while thinking that that may just be what the problem is.

It's been weeks since he found out that Nico was a vessel, and nothing has happened. Life has continued as normal. Nico still attends his classes, and trails after Percy when he attends his own. Percy still helps Nico control his powers, and Nico gets progressively better at keeping them in line- though every now and then, he does do some damage to the arena that Percy does not want to explain to his Headmaster. It's been weeks and nothing has gone wrong. It's a strange feeling, just going through life without a mishap, and to be honest, Percy's still expecting something bad to happen. But it doesn't. So he just goes about his day. Still, he starts becoming more and more aware of the little things, things that he never would have noticed before.

He notices the way that Nico whines like a child when he's sick of doing homework, but he'll still do it. He notices the small smirks that make their way onto his face when Percy says something particularly idiotic, notices how his voice drops a bit when he quietly corrects Percy. He notices Nico's fingers, thin and nimble, with hardly any callouses, and how the tips of them drum against the table when Nico's either irritated or frustrated. He definitely notices how Nico keeps his wings out when they're in their dorm, and even keeping them out when they're not in class, letting Percy gawk and fawn over them as much as he wants- until Nico decides that maybe he should stop. He finds himself slowly being addicted to the feeling of soft feathers between his fingers, addicted to the prince who owns them, and he slowly starts to think that it might just be okay to be addicted. 

He feels the shift, feels the change, and even though it scares him at first- what if Nico should hear the thoughts that course through his head when he's sure that Nico's asleep- he learns to get used to it. Starts to like it, even. 

He doesn't know what it means, or anything will come of it, but he likes it too much to worry about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shadow Cat: A revenant or other dimensional being representing or taking the shape of a cat.


	18. Chaper Twelve: Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He debates whether he should go visit his father or not. After all, doing so would mean having to take Percy with him, and for some reason, that doesn't seem like much of a good idea. His father is the type to like quiet, and Percy is good at anything but that. Not to mention the fact that Percy knows that he's a vessel, and that was one of the many warnings that his father had given him before he came here. He can't imagine what his father would say if he knew about Percy knowing. Doesn't want to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, okay, okay. Go ahead and yell. I know I've been gone for a while. Do I have an excuse? No. Am I sorry? Hell yes. Is this chapter a lot shorter than I wanted it to be? Also yes. But I'm working on it guys I swear. Let's get this thing back in swing, okay?

Nico is surprised at how quickly the time passes. He knows that most of the time, he's pretty busy. Making an effort to follow Leo's advice and enjoy what time he has left, has taken up most of his time- funny how that works. He will admit that he's been constantly doing something since they got back to school,  whether it be attending classes, or going with Percy to his own, or training to control his powers. He usually reserves his free days for relaxation, but even so, the time passes quickly, and before he knows it, the first break has come upon him.

He debates whether he should go visit his father or not. After all, doing so would mean having to take Percy with him, and for some reason, that doesn't seem like much of a good idea. His father is the type to like quiet, and Percy is good at anything but that. Not to mention the fact that Percy knows that he's a vessel, and that was one of the many warnings that his father had given him before he came here. He can't imagine what his father would say if he knew about Percy knowing. Doesn't want to.

Still, he knows that he has to visit sometime. Whether he likes it or not, his family is still there, and he does miss them every now and again. And he supposes that it would be nice to see Persephone after all this time.

He makes his decision about three days after the break begins. The campus is almost empty, most of the students having left. Only a few stragglers remain, including Nico, and his sister.

Hazel agreed to wait with him, saying that she would rather stay at school with him, than go home without him. (“It's not the same without you.” she had said.) Her decision to stay with him makes up his mind for him. He doesn't want Hazel to miss out on going home just because he's afraid of arguing with his dad. There's no guarantee of them butting heads, and even if they do, Nico has a whole palace to walk around to calm down. So he decides to go.

 

The ride home is filled with anxiety, questions of how his father will react to seeing him. He knows that he must look different. He's started helping Percy train, and doing so has given him some muscle mass that definitely wasn't there when he left home. He thinks he might have grown a bit, and he knows that he gained a little weight. (It's hard not to with the way that Percy cooks.) And then there's his father's need to put him on a schedule. He doesn't really have one anymore, except for his classes. He just kind of does what he wants, and he's pretty sure that his father is going to have an issue with that. He spends half of the ride, thinking of all the ways that this break could go, from good to horribly bad, and the other half looking out the window, watching as the surroundings become familiar, signaling that they are almost there.

When the palace in sight, Nico watches as his guardian starts plastering himself to the window to see it, hands pressed against the glass and eyes looking upward.

“This place is huge!” he grins back, before turning to look some more.

Nico snorts. “Well it is a palace. I would expect no less. And I'm sure you've seen bigger.”

“I have but that was pretty much home after a while. And I didn't have you. Now it just seems so different.”

Nico doesn't think about what that means, he's too worried about the extreme amount of bad outcomes that could play out here. He can literally feel his heart beating faster the closer they get to the palace gates, and he has to work especially hard to calm himself. The gates open, and Nico hears Hazel say something about how good it is to be home, but he's too focused on forcing his heartbeat to slow. He feels Percy's hand on his own, a reassuring presence that calms him a bit more. Nico feels the carriage come to a complete stop, and watches as the door is opened by a guard. Hazel steps out first, smiling the whole time, next comes Frank and then Percy, who had been watching the guard take Hazel’s hand as she stepped down. Percy does the same, making the next guard scoot over so he can hold out his own hand to Nico with a sly smile. Nico rolls his eyes, stepping down and greeting the guard who gives him a clipped hello in return.

“Is that who I think it is?” a feminine voice says, bubbly and loud, and Nico prepares himself for the hug. He hears the loud slap of bare feet against the ground before he sees her, but he knows who it is before she even shows herself. Who else would refuse to wear shoes in a palace?

She hugs Hazel first, both of them giggling like children even though both are far from being that young. Next she rushes head on at him, hair and dress flying as she whirls to face him. She smells like her garden, sweet with just a hint of stink. Her embrace is warm, kind of like sitting in front of a fire, but a bit less intense.

“Hello Persephone.” Nico huffs, not exactly annoyed by the sudden hug, but definitely not used to it. It's been awhile since he's had anyone hug him like this, and the feeling is almost foreign to him. His stepmother steps back, holding him at arm's length with a smile, pride shining in her eyes.

“Hello little one.” she whispers, the way she did a few days after she married his father and held him in her arms. “You've grown.”

Nico looks down at himself, skeptical. “Have I?”

Persephone shakes her head. “Not physically. In that sense, you are unfortunately still quite small, although you have gained a bit of muscle since I last saw you. But I am speaking of the mental sense.”

“What do you mean?”

Persephone smiles knowingly, before she clicks her tongue. “We'll talk more inside. Come.” she makes the nearest guard grab their things from the carriage and then leads them inside. The palace is just how he remembers it, dark and a bit foreboding, but home all the same. As usual, the lights on either side of the hall don't do much in terms of lighting, and Nico knows that it'll only get worse as it gets darker. The carpet in the middle of the hall is plush under his shoes, the walls the same red as the carpet. Maids bustle past them, rushing to and fro as they work, giving greetings to Hazel and the others but blatantly ignoring Nico. When Percy makes a snide mental remark about that, Nico shrugs.

“They've been doing that since I was chosen as a vessel.” he mumbles, as Persephone gives Frank the tour. “Guess it's easier to just go about their business pretending that I don't exist then it is to acknowledge me and their fear of me.”

“That's horrible.”

“Maybe. But it made my life a bit easier. No maids running after me about how I was dressed.”

“Still seems a bit lonely.”

Nico shrugs. “Maybe.”

He doesn't say anything more, just watches his stepmother as she leads then through even more halls until Nico sees the familiar door that leads to Hazel’s room. Unlike the black and red decor, this door is white, decorated with little trinkets and jewels. Hazel and Frank disappear inside, leaving Nico and Percy with Persephone, who turns at them with a smile.

“Now.” she says. “I presume that you two will be sleeping in the same room.”

“Yeah.” Percy says, before he stutters and gives a more proper, “Yes.”

Persephone chuckles. “No need for such formal words. If you are with my son, you are family.” She regards Nico with a tender look, one that she often gives him. It's odd that even though she didn't birth him, she still sees him as her son. It's one of her qualities that Nico likes the most, her maternal acceptance of him without a moment's hesitation.

“I warn you though.” she says, less kind but still soft at the edges. “I fear that my husband may not be as welcoming.”

Nico grimaces. She's right. His father will undoubtedly question Percy relentlessly, to see if he has any ulterior motives, which he has none but still. His father is protective to a fault, enough to interrogate anyone who comes near Nico who isn't family.

“I'm sure I'll be fine.” Percy laughs. “If I can handle his sisters, I'm sure I can survive one more protective family member.”

Persephone grins. “Oh wonderful! In that case, let us get you two settled. I take it you remember where your room is Nico?”

Nico huffs. “Of course I do.”

She lets him take the lead, chatting quietly with Percy while they walk to Nico's room. Nico doesn't pay attention to what they're saying, one, because he knows Percy will tell him later, and two, because when he finally thinks to do so, they've reached his door and he's a little busy trying to block out unpleasant memories.

_I hate it here_. Death growls lowly in his head.

_Yeah?_ Nico bites back. _How do you think I felt?_

_I know exactly how you felt._ Death reminds him. _We share the same consciousness, albeit unwillingly._

Nico sighs, reaching for the doorknob, pausing, just as his fingers rest on it. He's starting to think that this may have been a bad choice. Coming here, being here, it makes him remember everything. The hopelessness, the longing, the loneliness. Everything he was trying to get away from.

_We could leave._ Death offers, actually helpful for once.

_No we can't. We promised Hazel we'd try._

_Who cares about her?_

_I do._

_That's your problem._ Death chuckles. _You care too much. She'll die anyway. Why not just let her hate you so you won't feel guilty about it?_

_Because she's my sister_.

Death snorts in irritation. _You and your sentiment are beginning to grow tiresome._

Nico opens the door and steps inside, blinking in surprise at the clean state of his room. When he left, he'd left with the assumption that he'd never be coming back, and he'd left the room a mess to symbolize him never coming back to clean it up. But now it's completely spotless, papers picked from the floor, everything back in order with the window open letting in a cool breeze.

“The maids cleaned it?” he wonders aloud, voice a whisper because he distinctly remembers the maid's disdain for coming in here.

“No.” Persephone says. “I had hoped that you would come visit, and I had quite a bit of free time.”

“You cleaned it?” Nico asks. “Why would you-?”

Persephone smiles with a shake of her head, standing in front of him. “I told you. You are family. No matter how much you think you don't belong anywhere, you will always be welcomed by me, little one.” She dips to land a kiss on his forehead, and leaves him and Percy alone to get settled, sweeping out of the room with a flutter of her dress, with Hazel and Frank in tow.

Percy spends the first few minutes flitting around the room in awe, grinning about how huge it is compared to the one they have at school. His fingers run over the books on the bookcase across the room, wondering aloud about how someone could possibly have this many books. He gawks at the pictures pinned to the wall above Nico's bed, drawings that look so realistic, they may as well be actual pictures. He stares out the open window at the ground below, before he turns and flops onto Nico's bed.

“Your stepmother is really nice.” he sighs. “If a little cryptic. She kept asking me about you.”

“What about me?”

Percy hums. “Just weird questions. Like she was hinting at something.”

“She's always like that. You get used to it after a while.”

Percy hums again, rolling off the bed and sighing. “I feel like I'm already used to you and your family's habitual cryptic-ness. I'd say it's annoying, but I'm actually used to it by now, which is a little scary.”

Nico's seconds away from asking what he means, when there's a soft knock on his door, a maid standing in the doorway nervously.

Nico recognizes this one, one of the few maids who wasn't particularly ignorant of his existence. Although she was nervous in his presence, she was cordial about it, and even made an attempt to have simple conversation. She was a flame wraith, with a flaming tail and eyes the color of burning embers.

“Mira.” Nico says, blinking when she just stands there, eyes flitting to Percy for a second before focusing back on him.

“Your Highness.” she says, head lowered, even though Nico had asked her a thousand times to not do that. Just because he was royalty didn't mean that she wasn't allowed to look him in the eye. He wasn't angry though, habits are habits, and they're difficult to break.

“It is good to see you after such a long time. Your things will be brought to your room momentarily. And your father requests your presence.”

Nico groans inwardly, the action agreed upon by Death. “Where is he?” he asks out loud.

“His study, Your Highness.”

Nico glances back at his guardian and jerks his head, a signal to follow, and Percy's leaping off the bed like a child, standing behind him.

Mira frowns. “I believe your father wished this audience to be in private.” she says hesitantly, blinking up at the both of them.

Percy answers before Nico can, voice sure and low, his eyes no doubt piercing. Sure enough, Nico takes a second to look back, and Percy's staring Mira down with an expression that pretty much sums all his rebellious attitude into two darkening pearls of green. “I'm his guardian. I go everywhere he goes, provided he lets me. If he wishes for me to follow him, then who am I to object? His Highness has summoned his son, and with his son, he gets his son's guardian. I have no place to argue with either of them, but I will follow my charge to wherever he sees fit, whenever. Now if you don't mind.” Percy sends her a pointed look that has her blushing down to her chest, the spark of flame on her tail poofing a bit before settling, and she's moving out of their way, head lowered again.

Nico apologizes to her as he brushes past, before he levels his guardian with a disapproving frown. “Did you really have to bully the one maid who doesn't have semi- hatred for me? I don't think that was called for.”

Percy blinks innocently, or as innocent as one can get when one is desperately trying to hide a smirk. “I had no intention of frightening her.”

Nico has to reach a bit to whack Percy on the back of his head, but he does so. “You can't lie to me Percy. As you so often love to remind me, we share the same thought processes. Every thought of yours is broadcasted into my own head. You had every intention of scaring Mira. Why?”

Percy smirks. “I swear, I really didn't mean to scare her like that. Guess I'm just a little eager to meet your dad, is all.”

Nico sighs. “Don't be.”

And with that, Nico leads them through the palace. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bad place to end a chapter, I know, but shit's hitting the fan next chapter (bit of a spoiler alert, my bad) and it just didn't feel right to end it after this part, so...yeah. Leave comments or kudos if you like, they're appreciated (and by that, I mean that when I get them, I squeal like a child)


	19. Chapter Thirteen: Alpas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alpas: to break loose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How's that one Eminem song go? Guess who's back, back again?  
> Yeah, okay yell at me all you want but I finished not one but two chapters. Second one coming up, and I doubt that anyone reads these, but I'm sorry for being so late with this.

Nico hasn't been to his father's study often. It was off limits, a place for the king and the king alone. Even if he had wanted to sneak in and find out what it was like- he hadn't- doing so was impossible, as he would undoubtedly be caught by one of the many maids and servants in the palace who would inform his father the second he tried to get close. 

Still, Nico knew where it was. It was hard not to, really. It was the place that his father spent the most time in, doing whatever it was a king did. Sometimes the room was quiet, a time of peace. Others it was loud, filled with the squabbling of his father and a diplomat or another royal. The fact that his father would call him to speak in such a forbidden place was beyond him, and kind of terrifying. He wondered briefly what he had done wrong, mentally cataloguing anything he had done recently that his father would disapprove of, and found the list to be startlingly long. 

There was that time when he and Percy had engaged in a bit of a dorm war, after a dispute over who got the last roasted firerat tail- a war that was filled with pillows and laughter and childishness, but one that he had won. And the time when he and Leo had taken to hiding in unconventional places just to send their guardians into a riot- to this day, Nico will never know how he and Leo managed to fit under that sink, but they'd done it and the result was hilarious. 

Now that Nico thinks about it, ever since he told Percy about him being a vessel, his life has basically been school, training, and making choices that would make his father cringe. (And that was another subject entirely, Percy knowing his not so little secret.) He wonders if that's going to come back and bite him later. 

The answer is probably yes.

The door to his father's study is open, just a sliver, just enough for Nico to see his father sitting in a chair, looking over a map of the kingdom, with a floating bubble of vapor occupying the space by his head.

“Hades, you cannot be serious,” the man- who Nico recognizes as his father's longtime friend, Thanatos- in the bubble of vapor says, almost mockingly. “This cannot continue, and you know it.”

“We've no choice Thanatos.” Hades says lowly. “They've been expanding closer and closer to the border. Sooner or later, we'll have them pouring in here from all sides. As someone who was personally there the second time our two kinds clashed, I can assure you, I have no wish to have a third altercation. Especially so close to home.”

“Neither do I my friend.” Thanatos says solemnly. His eyes catch on Nico's and he sighs. “But this is a conversation for another time. Your son has arrived.”

Hades turns quickly, standing and brushing the wrinkles from his clothes while Thanatos waves his hand through the vapor and disappears. Hades gestures for him to open the door, and immediately frowns at the sight of Percy.

“I had assumed that we would be having this talk alone.”

Nico shrugs. “You wanted me to have a guardian. I have one. And I've told him to stay.”

Hades stares at Percy for a bit, looking him up and down, before he huffs, a very childish and unbecoming sound from someone in such a high position of power. “Well, at least introduce yourself.”

It takes a couple seconds and a nudge of an elbow for Percy to understand that Hades was speaking to him, and he rushes to speak, introducing himself with a bow and a nervous smile.

Nico moves to sit on one of the chairs across from his father's own, Percy refusing to sit on the other since it's too far, and just plopping himself on the floor.

Hades sits as well, and Nico notices the air become a bit cooler. “You look...different.” he says slowly, eyes narrowing a bit as he regards Nico with a cryptic expression. 

Nico nods. “I feel different. Better.”

“So you admit that my choice of schools was a good one.” It's not a question, a statement. His father knew he'd be right all along, and now he's trying to subtly gloat about it.

Nico frowns, not wanting to admit that his father is right, but knowing that he is. Finally, he relents. “Yes. You were.”

Hades sits a bit straighter, obviously smug. “Good. And how are your classes going?”

Nico knows how this will go. He's practiced it in his head. “I am in the top five percentile in most of my classes, though I am having a bit of trouble with Power Control 101.”

Hades frowns. “I didn't enroll you for Power Control 101.”

“I enrolled myself.” Nico says. “Decided it was time to learn to control them.”

“But what if-” Hades's eyes flick to Percy, worry evident on his face. Nico can tell that he wishes to talk about Death's interference with Nico's powers, but is afraid to do so in front of Percy. 

Nico helps him out. “Learning to control my powers, also stems to learning to keep him in line. Other than the occasional offer of what he deems to be help, there have been no issues. And you don't have to worry about keeping my condition a secret. He already knows.”

And just like that, the secret is out. Hades takes a second to understand, to fathom what his son has said. Then he shifts from confusion to bottled rage.

“You told him.” It's more of a declaration than a question, one filled with the low, boiling anger that Nico can see burning in his father's eyes.

He answers with little emotion, defaulting to how he usually speaks when his father is around. “I found it to be a waste of both my energy and time to attempt to keep it from him. It was tiring, and this way is much easier on the both of us.” 

His father flares his nostrils, a subtle sign that when he gets Nico alone, he'll give him the tongue lashing of a lifetime, but for now, he stays quiet. He takes a moment to compose himself, and then his voice is dangerously low. “Any other news I should know about?”

Nico thinks for a moment, before deciding that if he's going to tell, he might as well tell all of it and face the wrath all at once rather than multiple times. “I've been training with him.”

Hades's face stays neutral. “Training how?”

“He's been helping me control my powers, and in return, I keep him in shape. It's a give take kind of thing.”

His father levels his gaze on Percy, glowering with all the anger he has. “I'm assuming that since my son informed you of his ailment, you know how dangerous it is for him to be doing any kind of exhaustive physical activity, nevermind using his powers.”

“Yes sir.” Percy says at the same time that Nico frowns.

“Ailment?” he asks, a bit defensively, because while he may be a little down in his luck about being a vessel and all, he's not hopeless or helpless. “I am ailed by nothing Father.”

“You have a demon in your chest.” Hades says slowly.

“And I'm perfectly fine.”

“There is nothing perfect about you, I am sorry to say.”

There's a moment of intense silence, and Nico sees Percy look back and forth between them. He sighs. “Why have you called me here?”

“There is to be a ball, in celebration of your sister's acceptance into The Huntresses. I expect you to attend, be cordial, and be present. None of that running off to hide in a corner like you usually do.”

Nico blinks. “She was accepted?”

“Yes. And I expect you to be supportive.”

Nico frowns. “Why wouldn't I be?”

“It is not a question of why you wouldn't be, but if you will be.”

Nico frowns even deeper, and there's a bit of comfort in the way that Percy's hand lands on his arm. “Are we done?”

“For now.” Hades sighs, which is about as much as a dismissal as Nico's going to get, so he stands and walks out as quickly as he can, letting Percy trail behind him.

* * *

 

“Is your father always like that?” Percy asks, as the two of them sit in the once forgotten room that Nico has at home. Percy's eyes are trained on Nico's face, while Nico tasks himself with finding one of the books on one of the shelves to be the most interesting thing he's ever seen.

Nico shrugs. “Not always. Only when he's stressed.”

“What reason would he have to be stressed?” 

“I don't know.” Nico says sarcastically. “Maybe the fact that his son- who he clashes with like nothing else- has come for a visit, with a guardian who seems hell bent on messing up the normality of his life. Not to mention the fact that said guardian knows that his charge is a vessel, something that may pretty much ruin him if word got out. As far as I can tell, there's a bit to be stressed about.” 

Percy crosses his arms, voice thoughtful. “He still shouldn't treat you like that. He's your father, not your critic. He was rude, and demeaning, and he made me want to punch him in the face.”

“Please do not punch my father in the face, no matter how much you think he deserves it.” The request reels Percy's anger in for a bit, or at least makes him stop showing it. Instead, he chooses to focus on something else. 

“What are you going to do for your sister's party?”

“What do you mean?”

Percy blinks at him, like he's joking. “You're not serious right? She's becoming a Huntress. This might be the last time you can actually interact with her the way you used to. You're not really going to spend this last chance, just standing in some suit and acting like someone you're not.”

Nico frowns. “Someone I'm not?”

“You may be a prince, and you may be in line for the throne, but when you're near me, you act normal.” Percy pauses, searching for a better explanation, because Nico's still frowning. “You lose all the formalities, you loosen up. But when you're here, it's almost like you're someone else entirely. I don't know how to explain it, but I think you should just be who you really are. I think when you go to this party, you be you. You smile, and hug your sister, and congratulate her, the way you would if we were still at school.”

Nico snorts. “The way I'd congratulate her, would be running up and flopping into her to hug her, before she put me in a headlock. Not exactly appropriate in the middle of a palace, with a ton of my father's friends around.”

Percy shakes his head. “Who cares about them?”

“My father, to name one.”

“Bah!” Percy rolls his eyes. “Who cares? Anything you do, he'll find a way to critique. His opinion shouldn't stop you from doing what you want. If you wanna hug your sister, then hug her. Stop worrying about someone else's opinion of you.”

“That's easier said than done.” Nico pulls his knees to his chest. “He's my dad. It's difficult to not want to make him happy. He may make me want to shake him until he can't think straight, but there's this part of me that will always want to be good enough for him. I know it sounds stupid but-”

Percy interrupts him. “That doesn't sound stupid at all. That's usually how I am with you.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes!” Percy chuckles. “You have no idea how often I wrack my brain trying to think of things for us to do that you'll enjoy, just to get your mind off something. I keep telling myself that I don't really have to impress you, because it seems like you already like me enough, but I can't stop.”

Nico stares at him, wide eyed. “So all this time, you've been trying to impress me.” 

“Yep.” Percy says, eyes gleaming, but his hands are caught in his shirt, fingers clenching in it. He's nervous, something that Nico can tell just by looking at him, even without the dull panic echoing back at him from Percy's conscience in the form of  _ why did I do that I'm an idiot why why why why why.  _ “Did it work?”

Nico nods. “I'd be lying if I said that it didn't.”

The nervousness fades from Percy's mind a bit, still present, but dulled a hit by a wave of what feels like a mix of relief and some other feeling that Nico doesn't have a name for. 

“Good.” he smiles, lighthearted and just a little tighter than usual, like he's hiding something. “That means I can stop trying so hard.”

“I don't know.” Nico smirks as he looks lazily at another book, this one faded at the edges, looking used though he hasn't touched a single one. “I kind of like it when you try. You get all determined, like you're trying to figure out a way to win a war or something.” He reaches over and taps a finger to Percy's nose, grinning when his guardian flinches away and wrinkles his nose.

They stay up a bit longer, Percy going through Nico's books, and asking Nico why he has so many- among other countless questions- before Percy lets out a yawn.

“Wanna go to sleep?” he asks, and Nico nods, letting Percy pull him up from his place on the floor. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it just me or does this chapter seem shorter than usual? Whatever.   
> As always, leave those kudos and comments, because they give me life.


	20. Chapter Fourteen: Bond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He cares, no he said it himself. He loves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was nearly eight in the morning when I started writing this, so if there are any typos, I sincerely apologize.  
> But guess who's being productive again? And just in time for Christmas.

Nico is in the palace gardens when somebody tries to kill him.

The gardens are nice this time of night, the scent of dirt and hard work etched into every soiled brick and flowing petal. Every flower screams good health and love and care. He's seen Persephone wander through it with no shoes, toes digging in the dirt. He knows he's not really allowed there, has been told many times that the garden was for the queen and the queen alone. But the queen seemed to have a good standing with him, so he'd always wondered if he could get away with going in just once. Tonight seems as good as any, so when Percy's fast asleep- in Nico's bed, because apparently Persephone had failed to realize that they would need two beds- and Nico finding sleep hard to come by, he's wandered out here.

He supposes he can see the benefit of walking through the soil like this, without shoes. Kind of takes all your cares away, just a bit. At least, that's what he's thinking when he feels the cold chill of a blade pressed to his neck.

  
All in all, it's not a terrible way to go, at least not in his opinion. He'd always envisioned his death coming at the hands of Death ripping his mind open and taking him over. So when he says that having a dagger pressed to his throat, is refreshing, he unfortunately, isn't kidding.

  
However, there is the small fact that if he dies now, then Death won't be able to break out, because Nico's heart will stop beating, and in order for Hell to stay intact, it needs Death's energy as well as the energy of the other ancient demons who created it, and Death can't exactly provide that energy when he's stuck in a cage inside his dead vessel.

  
But tell that to the demon with the dagger.

  
He feels it press to his skin, digging in a bit as a deep voice rasps in his ear, "I am here to take you away. Let the sweet embrace of death welcome you."

  
Nico is about to say something smart about him being as close to death as one can get, when the dagger starts to drag across his throat, and a spike of panic rises in his chest like vomit. He squirms and starts to struggle, finding the grip on him tightening even more to the point that he can hardly breathe.  
He's going to die, he's going to die and he hasn't even done anything fun. There's so much he hasn't done. He's never kissed, never been kissed, never run through a field of flowers. He can't just die. Not so soon.

  
But apparently, that isn't going to be a problem, because there's a pattering of footsteps, a loud scream and the dagger is gone, replaced with warm hands that feel like both a hug and a choke hold.

His vision fails him for a moment, flashes of movement dancing in front of him. Percy's fist launching into his assailant’s face. Guards rushing to pull him off and take the assassin into custody.  
Percy stands in front of him when he opens his eyes again- he doesn't know when he closed them- worried and murmuring something. He looks like he's in tears, but Nico can't hear him. His blood is rushing in his ears, the panic settling back down so he isn't choking on it.

  
His breath is rattling in his chest, making him shiver, making the warmth of Percy's hands gently holding him, even warmer, spreading goosebumps along his arms.  
There's something- no, someone- picking him up, an arm at his back and another under his knees, and he's bouncing as that someone runs. He shuts his eyes against the onslaught of sudden movement, pressing his face into a warm chest as he tries to block it out.

  
He doesn't remember falling asleep, but apparently he does, because when he wakes up, he's in his room, bandages scratching at his throat. He moves to sit up, only to be gently pushed back down.

“Not yet.” Percy says lowly. “I want to make sure you're okay before you start moving.”

“I'm fine.” Nico croaks, hand going to his throat when he finds that speaking kind of hurts.

Percy holds him down until he's sure Nico won't try to get up. “You are not.” he says, with a definite amount of authority that Nico's never heard before. “You had a dagger pressed to your throat. You were this close to dying.” He holds his fingers up, two of them nearly pressed together, leaving nothing but a small space between them. “If I hadn't been there-” he chokes, like he doesn't want to think about what would have happened.

But Nico has thought about it. Ever since he was chosen to be a vessel. It has, unfortunately been a large topic of thought in his head. Hard to avoid really, when you think about how he grew up, almost isolated, left with nothing but his thoughts and the unwanted opinions of the being, the _thing_ inside of him.

“It's going to happen one way or another.” he says, with practiced nonchalance. “Either I die on my own, or Death kills me. That's just my fate, and I can't change it.”

“Bullshit.” Percy growls, the first time Nico has ever heard him so angry. No, not angry. Distraught. Saddened almost. “Whoever told you that is a liar.”

“So I'm a liar then.” Nico says, and he's decided to believe that. He is a liar, in a way. He kept this _thing_ a secret from everyone who didn't know him. He supposes that that makes Leo a liar too, the both of them telling everyone that everything's okay, when it's far from being close. Liars, the both them. Lying to themselves, to their friends, their families. All to maintain a resemblance of happiness and calm. How pathetic.

“Stop that.” Percy hisses, annoyed, even if he doesn't want to show it. His hands are in a flurry, checking if Nico has a fever, grabbing at his wrist, twisting in his shirt. “You're not going to die.”

Nico laughs, a cold, emotionless sound. It's a rude thing to do, to laugh at a time like this, during a conversation like this, but it's hard not to do. “Face it Percy.” he says knowingly. “Whether you like it or not, it's going to happen. I'm going to die. We're all going to die. Everyone dies eventually, right? Let's just consider my inevitable death to be a lot sooner and more painful than most. It's the best way to deal with it.”

Percy's eyes harden, and he leans back, shocked. “You really believe that?”

“Of course I do.” Nico says. “It's hard not to believe truth, isn't it?”

“Even easier to believe a lie.” Percy smirks. “And you said so yourself. You're a liar.”

Nico pauses, at a loss for words. “Did you just-?”

“Turn your own words against you?” Percy boasts. “Yes. Yes I did. I find that doing that seems to get you to see things clearly more than me using my own. After all, I'm just a guest in that pretty head of yours.”

Nico snorts, an action that aggravates his slightly less sore throat. “Pretty head?”

Percy rolls his eyes. “You heard me the first time, I'm not repeating myself.” He stands, brushing his pants off. “I had a maid run off and make something for your throat. She should have been back by now. I'll go see where she is. While I'm gone, don't move, and for the love of everything unholy, please stop with the depressed thoughts. If I have to give you a mental talking to, you know I will.”

“I think we both know that I won't stay in this bed.” Nico smiles.

Percy pauses, hand just beginning to turn the doorknob. “And I think we both know that if you wish to avoid a lecture, you will stay in bed.” He opens the door and disappears behind it, his footsteps carrying him down the hall- presumably to frighten another maid.

The moment he hears the door click shut, Nico's throwing the covers off him, padding over to the mirror on the other side of the room to look at himself. He doesn't look that bad, just a little worse for wear. The bandages wrapped around his throat are a bit bloodied, stained with red. His eyes are a bit wider than usual, his face a little paler. He really just looks like he's been scared by someone, his hair all over his head. He knows from experience that this amount of unruly-ness will take a while to fix, so he sees no point on starting to do it now. Instead, he focuses on the bandages wrapped around his neck, deciding that he's had quite enough of them scratching his skin. He unwraps them slowly, watching carefully as the skin underneath is revealed. There's a small cut there, on the center, right where the dagger pressed too deep for just a second and for a moment, it feels as though he's reliving the whole ordeal again. His blood feels icy, and his thoughts are muddled again, only calmed by the slightly fond and slightly annoyed chiding as he enters the room again.

Percy's rolling his eyes with a smile. “I could have sworn I told you to stay in bed.”

Nico gives an easy smile back, his small burst of anxiety calmed by Percy's arrival. “And I could have sworn that we both knew that that wasn't happening.”

Percy shakes his head. “When will you learn?”

“Probably never.” Nico says, turning back to face the mirror again. Percy makes a sound of alarm, rushing forward when Nico starts to poke at the cut on his throat.

“You took off your bandages?”

“They were scratchy.” Nico defends, because surely that's a good enough reason.

Percy appears to think the exact opposite, as he moves to sit Nico on the bed again before he's rubbing some kind of oil on the wound and reapplying new bandages. His hands are warm, and rough, calloused from weapons training. He smacks Nico's hand away when he reaches to poke at his neck again, sending him a stern look that would rival someone's own mother.

He puts the bandages away, and grabs a cup of something that smells delicious but looks a little gross. He hands the cup to Nico, telling him that it's tea mixed with stuff that's supposed to help his throat feel less sore and when Nico takes a cautious sip, then quickly downs the rest of it, he laughs. He moves the cup away, before making Nico scoot down a bit so he can sit himself down.

“So the guards say that the assassin wasn't working for anyone.” he starts, since this seems to be the way the conversation is going. “He was working on his own. They don't know how he got in the palace gates though.”

“There aren't any gates around the gardens.” Nico says definitively, because he remembers Persephone telling him that when he still lived here. “Persephone had them taken down so she could have a larger garden. And she doesn't have to worry about protection because she's capable of protecting herself.”

Percy frowns. “No offense to your stepmother, but that was a dumb decision. You almost died today because she wanted a bigger garden.”

“It's fine.” Nico says softly, flinching a bit when Percy hisses that it is not fine, is far from being fine.

“You might be okay with dying, but I happen to be extremely opposed to the idea of not having you around.”

Nico blinks. “You think I'm okay with this? With knowing that there's a clock on my life, running down every time I take a breath? You think I like knowing that sooner or later, I'm going to be the reason for so many deaths? Do you know how many times I just sat in here, wondering why it had to be me, why these stupid demons even existed? I hate this, more than anything. I don't want to die. But I'd rather live my short life happy, then spend it stressing about the trivial.”

“You think your life is trivial?”

Nico sighs. “I don't. But I know someone who does.” He looks down at his chest, still catching the way that Percy's eyes soften, then harden, and soften again. “If you want to leave, you can.”

Percy's eyes widen. “What?”

“I mean, to escape the fallout.” Nico explains. “I'll understand it if you decided to leave. I'd probably do the same, if it were me. I mean, I don't want to die, so I assume that you wouldn't either.”

Percy frowns, almost a scowl. “Do you know that when guardians are trained, they're told that if their charge dies, it is the duty of a guardian to die alongside them?”

Nico frowns. “That's insane, why?”

“Because the emotional strain from losing someone so close to us, someone who was in our heads, and almost always in our hearts, it's torture.” Percy says lowly, almost whispering, like he's admitting a weakness. “I don't know what I'd do if you died without me. I think I'd go insane. I mean, we're connected in almost every sense of the word. It's hard to imagine life without you now, I don't even want to try thinking about it because I know that it won't be the same. It's bad enough that I can feel you everywhere I go, but the fact that I'm in love with you isn't helping much. Losing you would be like being stabbed with a million spears and ripped apart by a thousand hellhounds. So if you die, you'd better damn well know that I'm going with you, you hear me?” His eyes are blazing, defiant in the way that seems to just be so utterly _him._

Nico blinks, thoughts unclear. Percy snaps his fingers and asks him something, but Nico doesn't hear it. He's too busy focusing on one thing. _The fact that I'm in love with you isn't helping. I'm in love with you. Love with you. Love._ For a second, he thinks that maybe Percy didn't mean it, maybe it just slipped out, and he's just kidding. But one glance at his face tells Nico that he's completely serious, from the crease of his eyebrows to the light in his eyes and the way Nico can feel the anxiousness for him growing in Percy's conscience. He cares, no he said it himself. He _loves._ Nico can feel it getting a bit harder to breathe, before Percy shouts his name and shakes him from his reverie.

“Are you okay?” he asks, after he instructs Nico to take deep breaths to calm down. “What's-”

“You're in love with me.” Nico says, searching Percy's face for the sign that he's right.

There it is, in the way that Percy's face goes pink and his widen and he stutters. “What?”

Nico smiles. “You said you were in love with me.”

“I- I mean I- um, well-” Percy interrupts himself over and over, like he can't seem to find a good enough sentence that will help him explain himself. Then he sighs, defeated by the way that Nico stares patiently, hopefully at him. “Yeah. I guess.”

“You guess you said it, or you guess you're in love with me?”

Percy chuckles. “Is both an option?”

Nico rolls his eyes. “Yes.”

Percy grins. “Then yes, I said I was in love you, and yes, I am in love with you.”

There's something wrong with Nico's chest. The way it squeezes isn't normal, the way it stutters and almost gives when Percy gently fits his fingers in between Nico's isn't normal. But it isn't entirely unpleasant.

“Do you love me?” Percy asks, nervous.

“I guess.” Nico says, having to hide a smile when Percy frowns.

“You guess?”

Nico snorts. “You're right. Bad choice of words. What I meant was, yes. Percy Jackson, I am hopelessly in love with you.”

Percy grins mischievously. “Hopelessly?”

“Entirely, endlessly. Eternally. However you want to hear it.”

“Eternally.” Percy says, wonder in his voice. “I think I like that.”

“You mean you love it.” Nico says cheekily.

Percy laughs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear these chapters feel way too short to me wth. Anyway, leave those kudos and comments. They're loved and appreciated.


	21. Chapter Fifteen: Lines

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god I don't even wanna think about how long it's been since I updated this fic. Plz no one remind me, I feel guilty already. I still feel like this chapter is short. (And a bit all over the place, but for someone who wrote most of this between the hours of midnight to 2am, I think it's not horrible.) God I'm so tired. I hope you guys like this ome, it introduces one of my favorite characters. Til next time.

It feels like there's a line somewhere, something between the two of them. One of them resting on the other side, careless, the other struggling to stay sane against the loneliness, the pull that yanks them closer to one another. He isn't sure which is which. Hasn't been sure for a while. Still isn't sure, even with Nico's mouth pressed to his own, still but warm.    
The smells of soil and flowers is caught in his nose, mingling with the smell of tea and something else that just seems so  _ Nico. _ An odd smell, but pleasant all the same, and he breathes it in, sure that if Nico pulls away, he'll die.    
There's a line somewhere here. One that tells them that they can't do this, that it isn't right. So Percy makes his point by metaphorically taking a sprint and leaping over that line, and placing a hand on Nico's face. He knows that Nico has never been kissed, can feel it in the way he tenses at every movement,  the way his hand shakes when it reaches for the one Percy's holding to his cheek. He can feel the way his body thrums, energy flowing beneath his skin, running through his veins like a beautiful spiderweb of emotion. 

Percy would try not to be poetic when he describes the way that Nico tastes, but it's impossible. He'd say it was like freedom, but that's not enough. Nothing could ever be enough, not even in a million years. There's a burning in his lungs, and he takes a gasp of air, before plunging back in, groaning when he realizes that the taste has gotten even sweeter, impossibly irresistible. His head is fogged, thoughts locked in a loop of how lucky he is, that he'll be the first and the last, the only being in Hell to do this. Something sings in his veins, a pull that leaves him freezing and burning at the same time, an ache in his bones, the need to get even  _ closer.  _ He's pulling Nico to him, until he's right in his lap, a move that makes Nico gasp and suddenly, Nico has gone from still to everything but. 

His hands lock into Percy's shirt, cling to his shoulders, grab onto the back of his neck, tug at his hair. It's like he doesn't know where to put them, so he puts them everywhere, and it's absolutely  _ wonderful.  _ He bites at Percy's lips, chuckling when Percy grips him harder and tries to bite back, chasing Nico's lips when he starts playing dirty and moving away with a smug smirk. 

_ Fine.  _ Percy thinks.  _ I'll just kiss somewhere else instead. _

The sound that pours out of Nico's mouth when Percy licks at his neck, lights Percy's blood ablaze, a sort of startled moan that he tries to cover with his hand, only to move back to clinging to Percy when he does it again. 

(“I hate you.” he'll say later when he has to borrow one of Percy's long sleeve shirts- because he didn't know he'd need one- to cover all the marks that Percy leaves on him.

In response, Percy will just give him a peck on the cheek with a wicked grin. “Liar.”)

For now though, he just shoves lightly, waiting until Percy's backed off a bit- and he's caught his breath- to speak. His voice is ragged, and the pride that surges in Percy's chest is almost criminal. 

Almost.

“Still can't make my heart beat too fast remember?” Nico reminds him, and Percy groans, thinking- not for the first time- that life would be so much better of Nico didn't have a demon inside him hindering everything. 

“I'll go slower.” he smiles softly, when he thinks of the solution. Yeah, slow. Perfect for a time like this, something as new and volatile as this. Slow is good. 

He goes in for another kiss, maybe a few on the cheek, chaste and sweet, but Nico's hand is pushing at him again, blocking him.

“Maybe we could wait for until we get back to school?” he suggests, sheepish in a way that Percy has never seen before.

“What for?”

Nico shrugs. “Oh nothing. Just a personal preference. I'd rather that my father and anyone else, not hear us.”

“I can be quiet.” Percy says, trying to find an excuse to continue. 

“It's not you I'm worried about.”

It takes a moment for that to click in Percy's head, and then he's holding back laughter, having to make double the effort when Nico begins to sputter. 

“Shut up!” he says, smiling. “It's a reasonable request.”

Percy nods. “Yeah. It is. It's just ironic. Someone so quiet, proposing the idea that he might be loud. It's funny.” He leans forward, until he can feel Nico's ear brushing against his lips. “And something to look forward to.”

Nico shivers, before he shakes his head and shoves again. “S-stop it! You're making me want to rethink my decision to wait.”

Percy chuckles, biting his lip. “No no. You made the choice. All that's left for you to do is anticipate. And I ensure that you'll think about it whenever you see me. It'll be easy. After all, I am in that pretty head of yours.”

Nico rolls his eyes and wriggles away running a hand through adorably messy hair and sighing. He takes a moment to look out the window and frowns. “Have we been up all night?” 

Percy shrugs. “I guess. You were kind of attacked in the middle of the night and you were out for a bit. Guess the time flew by pretty quick. At least we can go get some food. I'm starving.”

That earns him another eye roll, and then Nico is calling the bathroom first so he can dress. 

Percy moves to the window, intending on watching the night turn to day until Nico comes out. He watches with ease as the horizon goes from pitch black to a deep shade of red that is much too pretty to be okay, then frowns when something distinct catches his eye. Out in the field, a bit of a trek from the palace but still noticeable, even against the still dark sky, is a figure.

“Nico?” Percy calls, trying to get Nico's attention without looking away, just in case the figure suddenly disappears.

“Yeah.” Nico calls back, voice muted by the closed bathroom door.

“Do you have guards out in the field by the palace? Is that a thing?”

The door opens, revealing a half dressed Nico, face pulled into a frown and pulling a shirt onto his body. “What? No. What are you talking about?”

Percy makes him look out the window, and points to the figure when Nico still doesn't see. Nico's frown deepens even more, then turns into something close to horror.

“That's not a guard.” he says warily. “That's too close to the border for there to be guards. We have watchmen who watch that area instead, since the other guards are too afraid to get that close, but even the watchmen never get that close.”

Percy raises an eyebrow. “The border?”

“Yes, the border!” Nico says in exasperation, like he needs Percy to understand. “The bridge between the mortal world and Hell. The border.”

“You live this close to the border?” Percy says, shock etching itself into his face.

Nico groans. “ _ That's  _ what you're worried about right now? Percy, there's someone by the border, and it's not a guard. That's a problem.”

“If it's not a guard, then who could it be? It couldn't possibly be-”

“A human.” Nico says shakily. “A human crossed the border.”

There's a moment of silence between the two of them, both of them trying to make sense of the situation. A human in Hell? As far as Percy knows, that's never happened before. At least not since the war. Demons never went to the mortal realm and humans never entered Hell. That was the rule. No one was to cross the border. So why was there a human crossing now?

“We need to tell my father.” Nico says finally, when he stops shaking, then he rushing to the door, pulling Percy with him, ignoring the guardian’s protest about how he's not even dressed yet.

* * *

 

They find Hades in the dining hall, at the head of the table, eating some sort of delicate breakfast, that has Percy's stomach growling. Hazel and Bianca are sitting further down the table, both of them eating quietly, their guardians sitting across from them doing the same. At the end of the table is Persephone, who seems to be the only one who doesn't look some form of tired. 

All of them jump when Nico bursts in, marching straight to his father and declaring that there's a problem. 

“Surely it can wait until after we've had our meal.” Hades sighs at the same time that Frank asks, “Why is Percy still wearing pajamas?” and Hazel asks Nico what's on his neck.

“No.” Nico says. “It can't. This is extremely important.”

“Almost everything I deal with is of the same importance. I'm quite certain that if my dilemmas can wait until I've eaten, so can yours.”

Percy groans. “We think we saw a human cross the border, which is very unsafe to have built your palace near might I add.”

Persephone drops her spoon and Hazel gasps loudly. Frank chokes on a piece of his food while Zoë and Bianca stare in shock.

Hades does nothing. “Impossible. A human has never crossed the border. Not since the war. You simply saw a guard.”

“That close to the border father? Really?”

“Yes.” Hades says, in a tone that means that he's done talking about it.

Nico on the other hand, isn't. He pounds his fist on the table. “I  _ know  _ what I saw. And Percy saw it too. Someone crossed the border and we know it and you know it. I know you do. You were talking about it with Thanatos.”

Hades stiffens, his face gaining a face that could kill. “Do not speak of things you know nothing of.”

Nico scowls. “Why? Because you know I'm right? I heard you. You said that they were worried about them expanding so close to the border and you didn't want a third altercation, especially so close to home and especially since you were there for the second.”

Percy frowns, thinking in his head of all the things he'd learned about the war. Something about humans coming in contact with demons, war, blood and death. Nothing unusual there. But that was it. There was no second altercation. No second war. Sure there were small battles every now and then, but none really big enough to be recorded or documented. So why was Hades speaking of a second event that shouldn't have existed?

Hazel catches this as well, frowning. “Father, there was no second altercation after the war ended. What is Nico talking about?”

“Nothing of importance.” Persephone grins nervously, while her eyes stare pointedly at her husband in a clear signal to  _ do something.  _

Hades scowls even deeper than his son. “I believe it would be wise for you to stop talking.”

“I believe it would be wise for you to believe me.”

“Why should I believe you when there's no possible way for a human to cross the border?”

“Because I saw it with my own eyes!”

“Enough!” Persephone yells, effectively ending the argument, at the same time a maid rushes into the dining hall and hurriedly whispers something into the king's ear. Hades's eyes widen in shock, horror crossing his features before he steels them into one of practiced calm. 

“All of you to your rooms. Now.” he says quietly, like he's close to yelling but just managing to control his temper.

“But father-” Hazel starts, only to cut off by her father's gaze, unyielding. She stands, Frank standing with her before Bianca and Zoë do the same, all of them leaving the room swiftly. Persephone stands but doesn't move, and Nico stares defiantly into his father's face. 

“Now do you believe me?” he says, not exactly smug, but close enough that Hades glares at him. 

“It doesn't make any sense.” he hisses. “What use would a human have to be here? Why would they come back? After Maria I thought-” The king interrupts himself with a groan, rubbing at his temples. 

“Who's Maria?” Percy asks, a bit irritated that he's met every member of Nico's eccentric family, but not this Maria woman.

Nico's face is emotionless, steeled against any feeling, but Percy can feel the world crashing down on him in his head. “She's my mother. What does this human have to do with my mother?”

Hades ignores the question. “I don't understand. What could they possibly want with us again?”

“Hades.” Persephone says carefully. “I think we should tell him.”

“Tell me what?” Nico asks. 

“Why, why, why? Why send one of their own here? What are they trying to do?” Hades growls, eyes beginning to glow.

“What do you need to tell me?”

“Hades!” Persephone hisses, shaking her husband from his thoughts. They stare into each other's eyes for a few, seconds, before Hades sighs and concedes. 

“Later.” he mumbles, something he's never really done before, as long as Nico can remember. “Once this is dealt with, you will be told everything. Please just go to your room.”

“No.”

Hades groans, similar to a child being told that he can't do something. “Why must you be so difficult?”

“I want to meet them.” Nico shrugs. “That's all there is to it.”

“What if something happens?”

Nico rolls his eyes and gestures for the maid- who takes a minute to move because she's a bit frightened by the argument- to lead them. “That's what I have Percy for.” 

His father groans again.

* * *

 

William Solace can handle a lot of things. After all, he does lead a pretty hectic life, and he's a year or so from graduation, so it's only natural that he have some form of responsible bone in his body. But still, he's only human, and there's only so much he can take. 

He was alright when the weird- and slightly psychotic- voice started talking to him in his head. It was a bit weird at first- especially when he started having full blown conversations with said voice- but all in all, it wasn't that hard to deal with. The voice was nice, not rude, like so many people that Will knew. They got along great. 

He could handle when the voice sometimes went from nice, to mean and nasty. It never happened that often and he supposed he could understand. Every now and then, even he had to draw the line somewhere. (Besides, it was kind of like having the Joker in your head. He was polite, but every now and then, he went a little batsy.) 

He was a little freaked out when the tattoo appeared over his chest, right over his heart. But he supposed that it wasn't that bad. It was easy to cover as long as he didn't take off his shirt in public- or around his mother. And it looked kind of cool, a shattered heart shrouded in smoke, with arrows surrounding it. It was pretty cool, though how it got there, he didn't understand. 

He could even handle when he passed out during basketball practice and had to be taken to the hospital- because apparently his heart had stopped or something. He knew that it meant he wouldn't be playing basketball for a while, or any other sport for that matter, but he was fine with it. He didn't really like basketball all that much anyway, only played because it was something to do, and he just so happened to be good at it. It wasn't that big of a deal. 

What was a big deal was when the nurse decided to give him an MRI to see what made his heart stop- because they couldn't find anything wrong with him- and found some kind of cage, glowing right next to his heart, pulsing whenever his heart stopped beating. The nurse backed away from him, like she wanted to run, but had to keep calm because she was professional. His mother had broken into hysterical sobbing, something that she'd never done, crying about how her son was going to die. 

Will himself had just sat there, putting the pieces together. The tattoo, the voice, the way his body ached whenever he ran or did anything that made his heart beat quicker. He was a vessel. He'd heard of them before, in his history class. (It was a gifted selection class. Taught him about the war and demon tactics. Nothing that would help him much in his life, but it was interesting to learn about. He never thought he'd actually need to  _ remember  _ any of the information.) He knew that they didn't have a choice of what they were, knew that the demons inside of them were eventually going to kill them. He knew things he hadn't even learned in class, having been fed info by the voice in his head. He knew that the tattoo on his chest was a seal, and that it was usually put on one's chest to make it easier for a vessel to contain their demon's power, to lock the demon away in the cage that will eventually crack and break. What he also knows is that said tattoo seal is usually given by a specialist. They have to drawn on carefully, they don't just show up one day while you're taking a long shower. But that’s exactly what happened, and it confuses the daylights out of him. 

There are so many things he wants to know, so many questions that need answers. Of course, it’s a little hard to ask questions when you’re life is being turned upside down, just like the contents of your stomach. Yes, he pukes. It’s almost insane that he wouldn't puke, after every fact of is existence is torn to pieces by a simple x-ray. The information is overwhelming to say the least, even more so when he’s informed that he’ll have to go across the border to get the answers he wants.

At first, it’s just a choice. He’ll just pop over for a bit, ask some questions, get some answers and come back home. Simple. But as soon as he voices the idea, his mother refuses to agree, saying that she wants this to stay a secret for as long as possible. Will disagrees, saying that the only way for them to live with this, is for them to know what they're dealing with. They argue about it, the first argument they've had in a long time, and Will just, loses control. Something in him snaps, and when his head is clear and isn't throbbing anymore, he can feel the dread start to creep up on him, sticky and choking, like the blood on his hands. He throws up again, until his stomach is empty, and then he cries, and cries, until he can't do it anymore. 

He gets up, cleans up the mess- he's always been good at that, cleaning things up, salvaging the situation in a way that no one else could- and makes his final decision. 

He crosses the border on the day after his 17th birthday, and he doesn't look back. 

Now, he kind of wishes that he had.

 

The demon in front of him is obviously one of high importance. Will doesn't know much about royalty- the closest he's gotten to a king is when he watched Cinderella- but even though his knowledge base is small, the man practically screams royalty. Everything, from the way he's dressed- clothes meant to look simple, but look even more valuable and elegant than his best suit- to the way he holds himself- high and commanding, like a god; if there was a god in Hell. He is flanked by two guards on both sides- the ones who brought Will in, rather forcefully if his aching arms and body have anything to say about it- and behind him is a boy, two of them actually. Will is seconds away from asking the man's- demon's- name, when he speaks, voice foreboding and booming. The voice of someone raised to rule.

“You look afraid.”

Will gulps, wringing his hands, the chains on his wrists rattling with his nervous movement. He mentally claps himself on the back for managing to keep his voice steady. “It would seem that I have every right to be, given the circumstances.”

The demon chuckles darkly, and if Will wasn't so close to pissing himself, he'd be offended. “You were the one who crossed the border. The only one you can blame for your current predicament, is yourself.”

“I had to come here.” Will blurts, his mouth not waiting for his brain for once. “I needed answers.”

“To what questions?”

“I don't know yet.” Will sighs. “Someone just told me that it would be a good idea to come here. He said that I could find what I was looking for.”

“Who?”

Will cringes. “You're going to think it's crazy. You might think I'm crazy.”

The demon delivers a stale glare, one that only a parent could pull off so effortlessly. “You are a human who crossed the border into Hell, seemingly of his own free will. I already believe that you may not be the most mentally intact. Now answer my question.”

Will ignores the obvious insult, in exchange for his explanation.“The voice in my head.”

A frown. “Excuse me.”

“Told you it would sound crazy.”

A snort from behind the man, the boy, his eyes as dark and commanding as the elder demon's, even more so if possible. Behind him, stands yet another demon, eyes beaming a color that's a mix between green and blue, like they can't decide. The young demon is slender, but lithe, like a panther, his hair blocking some of his face before he blows it away and rolls his eyes. “Crazy doesn't even begin to cover it,” he says lowly. The elder demon turns to glare at him, the two of them having a momentary staredown before the elder sighs and turns back.

“Excuse my son.” He says. “He has a habit of saying snide comments under his breath.”

“Wonder who I got  _ that  _ from.” the boy smirks, mouth twitching into a smile when the demon behind him snickers.

His comment is ignored.

“Now, back to the reason of you being here.” the man's eyes harden. “Tell me. And the truth would be appreciated this time. I have little patience for liars.”

“I was telling the truth, I am telling the truth.” Will says, quick to correct himself when the demon frowns. “The voice in my head told me to come here.”

The man huffs, fingers pressing to his temples. “Fine.” he concedes. “Say that i should believe you about this voice in your head. What did it say? Exactly.”

That's not hard for Will to remember. The same thought on repeat in his head until he made up his mind to agree. He shrugs. “He said-” He utters a few sounds and noises that aren't English, probably aren't any human language, but make perfect sense to him. 

_ Sanity, and happiness are two things that rarely go together. But insanity and knowledge are one in the same. _

The man freezes, as does every other demon in the room. 

Slowly, there's a quiet question. “How do you speak our language? Fluently.”

Will chuckles. “Oh  _ that's  _ what that was? Jesus, it was killing me not to know. He just kept repeating it over and over until it was all I could think about. Eventually I got tired of hearing it, and I agreed, and now I'm here.”

“How do you know our language.” The question is spoken with a bit of a snarl, like a cornered animal that's used to being the one doing the cornering. 

“I don't.” Will shrugs. “I just know those two sentences. He kept saying them over and over and I just-”

“Who?”

“What?”

His hands are moving urgently toward him. “The voice, did he say who he was? Does the voice have a name?”

Will shrugs again. “Well personally, I call him Gabriel, or on bad days, asshole. But I think he prefers Madness. At least that's what he tells me whenever I call him Gabriel.”

The boy inhales quickly, so quick he almost chokes, catching himself with a fist pounding into his chest and a hand pressing to his mouth to quiet himself. The demon behind him looks confused, to which he makes a gesture that Will can only guess means  _ I'll tell you later. _

“You're a vessel.” the boy says. “But you're human.”

“Crazy, huh?”

The boy marches forward, moving past his father- who stands frozen in shock- and places his hands in the table between them. “Tell me something.” he says, almost a whisper. “Do you know what a vessel is?”

“Yeah.”

“And you know what it means.”

“No.”

The boy sighs, standing straight again. “Then it's time for a crash course.” He snaps his fingers, making the guards turn their attention to him. “Uncuff him. Bring him to the room across from mine.” 

The guards comply to his order, moving quickly, efficiently, despite the obvious disapproval of the boy's father.

“What are you- what the hell?” Will asks as he's yanked up- again, ow- and moved rather forcefully toward the door. “Where are you taking me?”

“Somewhere we can talk.” the boy says. “I have a lot to explain, you have a lot to learn. And if this means what I think it does, then we don't have a lot of time for you to figure it out.”

Will doesn't know what that means. And he's not sure he wants to know.


	22. Chapter Sixteen: Justice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Justice is in the eye of the beholder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I updated! It's a miracle! Yay!

_Solace_

What an odd name. If Percy remembers correctly, the word has something to do with light, or sun.

How unfortunate that the one bearing the name has come across something so dark.

Nico watches as the human (Will, as he requested to be called, because his name wasn't ‘human’ and he wouldn't call either of them ‘demon’ if he knew their names) processes the new information, every detail of thousands of years of history condensed into a time that is considerably shorter than thousands of years. The human’s hands are dug into his bright hair, pulling at the strands as he starts to chuckle, the sound spilling into to giggles and then full out laughter that lasts for as long as it takes for Nico and his father to have another one of those family staredowns they seem so fond of.

Hades leans against the wall, looking angry and worried at the same time, his face pulled into an expression that clearly says: _I think this is a bad idea, and since you won't listen to me say it, I'm going to glare at you until you understand just how terrible a decision this is._

“I would ask if you're okay, but you seem to be taking all of it rather well.” Nico says, calm, collected. Here, and now, Percy can see that even though he wants no part of the position, he'd make a good king. He keeps his voice level even when his head may be clouded. Keeps the illusion of calm up to look distinguished, like a force to be reckoned with.

Will snorts. “Oh yeah, I'm doing great. Just waiting to wake up.”

Nico frowns. “You haven't been sleeping. This is real.”

“So I'm really in Hell?”

Nico nods. “Yes.”

“And I'm really a vessel.”

“Correct.”

“And I really have a demon in my chest that wants to kill me so he can destroy half of Hell?”

“Mmhmm.”

Will blinks. “Oh. Okay.” he nods, biting his lip, mouth making a popping sound before he chuckles again. “I knew it. I'm fucking crazy.”

“Well, you do hold the demon of literal insanity inside you, so yes, that's to be expected at this point.”

“But you hold the demon of Death.” Will says, to which Nico nods. “But if I'm likely to go crazy from having the demon of madness in me, then how come you haven't died from having the demon of death in you?”

“Our demons need us alive.” Nico says simply, as easily as one would say _stop lighting the floor on fire._ “We die before they break out, and they're trapped, which means they never get free and Hell slowly deteriorates. Unfortunately, Hell needs their energy to remain whole, intact. Our demons know that. So they can torture us mentally all they want, just as long as we don't perish from their torment, they win.”

“That's horrible.” Will says, disgusted.

Percy finally speaks. “That's what I've been saying. Why can't they just stay unchained and just be free?”

“Because if they're free, then they have free reign to do whatever they want. That happens, and you can guarantee that every demon in this realm is going to suffer, maybe even humans as well. It's better for them to stay locked away until they find a way out themselves.” Nico looks at him like he should know this, which he probably should. He _does._ And that's what sucks. The fact that he knows, and can't do a thing to stop it, prevent it. (Maybe he finally understands what Nico had said. It was better to come to terms with your fate, because no matter how hard you try, you can't change it.)

Will clenches his fists like he wants to punch something- a reasonable feeling, all things considered. “So that's it? I'm going to die, because this, this _thing_ is inside me. And I'm going to kill a bunch of people, and myself and...that's it? That's not fair.”

For the first time in the entire conversation, Hades speaks. “That's the thing,” he says. “Fairness doesn't exist here. Doesn't really exist at all. Justice is in the eye of the beholder. You may see it as unfair, but that demon sees it as only what's right. After all, he's been caged inside you, unmoving and weakened. The fact of the matter is that you can't change it, and you can't stop it.”

“I don't understand.” Will groans, holding his head in his hands. “Why me? I thought this sort of thing only happened to demons. Why would he pick me? Why am I so special?”

Nico shrugs. “That's a conversation you'll have to have with him.” He stands, dusting the nonexistent dust off his clothes. “In the meantime, you may stay here, while you figure it out. I am willing to answer any questions that your demon can't or refuses. And if you wish, you may accompany me back to my school when I leave. We can attempt to get you enrolled, and you can stay in me and Percy's dorm. I'll….give you some time to yourself to think it over. You should have a room by the end of the day for you to sleep in.”

Hades glares at him as he walks out, Percy following suit, and he can hear the king walking behind them, closing the door to his office slowly with a click.

“He will _not_ be staying here.” Hades says.

“He has nowhere else to go.” Nico says, not stopping. Percy reaches into his mind as feels it addled, clouded with confusion and annoyance, and other unintelligible emotions.

“He can go back where he can from.”

Nico freezes, turning slowly, and if Percy looks hard enough, he can see the fury swimming in his eyes. “Really?” He says, spite flowing out of every syllable. (Percy didn't know it was possible to make such a short word sound so menacing, but Nico does it with ease.) “You really think word won't have spread about him? The day I was chosen, when I returned from getting my seals, the entire palace had turned their backs on me, afraid. In a matter of hours, everyone I knew, every maid and servant were afraid at the very mention of my name. Even you distanced yourself from me. You really think the same won't happen to him?”

“He is not my concern.”

“He should be.”

“Why? Why should I care for him? He is nothing to me.”

“He is everything to you. He holds inside of him one of the five things that can bring your kingdom crashing down. I hold one of the _other_ five things that have the same power.” Nico growls. “One of us alone could destroy an entire kingdom, kill thousands. Imagine what two of us could do. He may be human, but he's a priority nonetheless. And if you won't care about the problem that this raises, then I will.”

“You have no authority over me or this kingdom.” Hades barks. “You will not tell me how to run my kingdom.”

“I'm not telling you how to run your kingdom! I'm telling you that whether you like it or not, this is a problem! One that you can't just ignore like you ignored me!”

Hades's eyes widen. His anger fades into a sort of shocked sadness. “I didn't-”

“You _did._ ” Nico says. “You told me that I was a hero, because I was brave enough to take on what a lot of others wouldn't be willing to. But the problem is that I wasn't willing. I wasn't given a choice to be willing. And the second I was given this thing that I never wanted, was the second you pushed me away. Not a good way to treat a so called hero, is it?”

Hades frowns. “I didn't mean to...I didn't know you felt like that.”

“I know you didn't, and that's what makes it worse. You didn't even notice.” Nico blinks rapidly, and Percy can see a wetness to his eyes that wasn't there before. His shoulders sag, like he's been burdened with something heavy, and he sighs. “Forget it. I'll deal with it. You, you just, run your kingdom. You were always good at that. Let's go Percy.” He doesn't give Percy time to question him, just turns and keeps walking, forcing Percy to either follow or be lost in the halls.

Percy takes one last look at Nico's father, and sees that his kingly facade has cracked. His eyes are watery, his mouth opening and closing like he wants to say something but doesn't know what. His eyes catch on Percy's for a second, and Percy has to look away to escape the void that fills them.

He jogs to catch up to Nico, and when he asks if Nico is okay, he finds that Nico's eyes are just as empty as his father's.

* * *

 

Will would like to say that when the door closes, he lets everything set in. That would be the right thing to do. To just sit in silence and let his mind catch up and turn over all the information he's been given. He even tries it for a few seconds, just stares at a blank wall and thinks. But then the unfairness of it all comes crashing down on him and he has to _do something._

Apparently that something is destroy an entire room, because that's pretty much what he does. He turns over the table in front of him, throws pillows, punches the wall until his knuckles bleed and there's a little hole. He throws a vase and watches it shatter against the wall, and kicks at what's too heavy for him to throw and too hard for him to punch. In the end, he ends up on his back, in the middle of the room, staring up at a blank ceiling, still fuming, hut too tired to do anything about it.

_Are you done with your tantrum yet?_

If Will wasn't so dead on his feet, he'd throw another chair. But as it is, he just lays there and growls. “You lied to me.” he says, bitterly, angry.

_I did not. I said if you came here, you'd get answers. I never said you'd like them._

“Why didn't you tell me what you were, why did you let this happen?

_You seemed fine with me_ before _you knew what I was._

“Because I didn't know that you were eventually going to kill me. I just thought I was going crazy or something.”

_Is that any better?_

“It's better than inevitable death!”

_Nonsense. Everything dies. You're just a bit closer to your demise than most._

“That's not helpful.”

_Can't say i didn't try._

Will groans, really wishing he had the energy to punch something. “Why me?” He asks, finally. “I thought this sort of thing only happened in Hell.”

_This has nothing to do with human or demon. Nothing to do with Hell. Vessels are chosen by their energy. Their life force. Are demons usually more compatible with the ancients? Yes, of course. But I am of a different breed. I am not like the others._

“What makes you so special?”

_I used to be like you._

Will frowns. “If you used to be like me, then how'd you end up like this? How'd you get in my head?”

_It is a long and rather painful process and story that I've no desire to share at the moment. But tragedy befell me, and this place, it corrupted me. Hell may seem exotic and wonderful at first, but it is still Hell._

“Doesn't seem exotic and wonderful to me.” Will snorts. “From my experience, it just seems really defensive and violent.”

_Violent. Yes, I suppose that's a good word to use. So violent it could drive a man to ruin._

“Still doesn't explain why you picked me out of all the rest. There are billions of human out there who probably have a bit more in common with you.”

_Nonsense. You are the perfect vessel. You...remind me of...me. Or at least, who I used to be._ The voice sounds saddened, almost empty. _I don't remember much of what I was before this, who I was. And what I do remember is by no means pleasant. But when I was released, and felt your energy, I had to have you._

“That's not creepy at all.” Will deadpans.

_Of course it isn't._

Will rolls his eyes, before he frowns again, confusion etching itself on his face. “But wait, that boy, the other vessel. He said that your energy keeps Hell from deteriorating. That would imply that your energy also created Hell. But if coming to Hell made you into...this, how could you also have created it?”

_You are very intelligent. My other vessels wouldn't have asked that question._

“I prefer to know everything about whatever situation I'm in. And you've been leaving some rather large potholes that need to be filled.”

_Indeed I have. But I'm afraid that even I don't have the answer to your question. If you had another demon maybe-_

“One is enough, thank you very much.”

_-one of them could answer. But I'm still relatively new to this whole being an ancient demon thing._

“Dude, you're literally ancient. How new could you be at this?”

_Compared to the others, at least a few thousand years. Maybe even more._

“Were humans even alive a thousand years ago?”

_You tell me. I'm the one who can barely remember anything._

“You aren't very helpful.”

_I have long since realized that._

Will sighs, sitting up slowly and looking around. Now that he's calmed down a bit, he feels a bit bad for the mess he's made- especially that hole in the wall. If these demons were wary of him before, he doesn't want to see how they'll react now.

_Your actions were validated._ The voice says. _I would have done the same, I believe._

“I still feel bad.”

_Don't. It is expected of you to go a little crazy every once in awhile. I've been informed that having me as a demon tends to wear on one's sanity._

“Just one more thing to look forward to. Great.” Will grouches as he stands. “That reminds me. I absolutely refuse to call you the demon of Insanity of Madness. Remember what your old name was?

_Unfortunately no, otherwise, I would have made the others stop calling me the demon of Madness._

Will shrugs at that. He would have done the same. (Maybe they are alike….okay. No. Not even going to continue that train of thought. “How about Matthew?”

_Matthew?_ The voice tests the name out, saying it slowly, like a child learning a new word. _What an odd name. What made you think of it?_

Will shrugs again. “Dunno. Sounds enough like Madness for me to remember what I'm dealing with, without the long winded title. Plus, I knew a kid named Matt in sixth grade and he was pretty crazy so it guess it fits.

_Matthew it is then._

Will runs his hand through his hair, kind of wishing that he'd brought a hair tie with him. “Well,” he says. “I seems like you and me are stuck with each other Matt. How about we make the most of it?”

_That seems like a more preferable option compared to your original plan of punching things._

“Matt?”

_Yes._

“Shut up.”

* * *

 

Dinner is silent. Not the normal, warm silence, filled with occasional comments of how good the food is, or conversation about each other's days. This silence is thick, choking, only broken by the scraps of utensils on plates and even then, you could cut the silence with a knife.

Persephone’s voice is that knife, as halfway through dinner, she sighs at the stubbornness of her husband and stepson.

“Alright.” She says, setting her utensils down and crossing her arms sternly. Her eyes flicker to the human- Will ,who picks at his food like he doesn't know if it's safe to eat- and back to Hades, before settling on Nico. “Now I know that some of us are rather tense at the latest set of developments. But that is no reason to be acting like children.”

“I'm not acting like a _child_ -” Nico begins, with a rant about how unfair and illogical his father is being, ready on his tongue.

Persephone stops him with a glare. “I wasn't talking about you.” She levels the look at her husband, who frowns in confusion.

“What did I do?”

Persephone rolls her eyes, opening her mouth to no doubt berate Hades for his recent display of childishness, but she stops. She turns a sweet smile on Hazel, one that doesn't reach those knowing, motherly eyes. “Hazel, would you mind showing our guest to his room?”

Hazel stutters, obviously trying to get out of it. But one assertive glance from Persephone has her rising from her seat nervously, Will doing the same, and the two of them sweep silently out of the room.

Persephone waits until she hears them leave, before she turns back to the task at hand. Her eyes are alight with determination, untapped fury. “Now,” she says, calmly and quietly, like a night wraith ready to pounce. “We are going to have a long talk about family. There are secrets upon secrets in this palace and this family and I've had just about enough of it. I was raised in a home that had no secrets and I intend to make sure that this home lives the same way. And I will begin this process by having Hades tell his children who their mother is.”

Hades freezes, body going rigid. His eyes narrow. “Persephone-” he warns, to which his wife takes no heed.

“Tell them. Or I will.”

Bianca frowns. “We know who our mother is. She was one of the maids. Father took a liking to her, against the wishes of Grandmother Rhea, but they made it work. She died giving birth to us. Right, Nico?”

Nico frowns. “No. No that's not right. I remember- I had a dream. I- he showed her to me. She was..dead.” He turns to his sister. “She looked like you.”

“Who showed you what?”

“Enough.” Hades says to the both of them, silencing them. To Persephone, he says, “I can't tell them. They're not ready.”

Persephone growls. “Really? Your daughter has become a swordsman, and has been accepted by one of the highest ranking groups of warriors and hunters on this side of Hell. Your son, has also made vast leaps in discovering himself and what he's capable of. If there's anyone at this table who isn't ready, it's you.”

Hades groans. “I don't-”

“Dad.” Bianca says, chuckling. “Whatever it is, I'm sure we can take it.”

Nico nods, staring his father in his eyes. He knows he has his mother's eyes, warm and cold at the same time, he's seen her eyes, however cold and lifeless they were. But he's seen them. Now he knows why his father becomes distant at the sight of him. He reminds him of his mother.

“Hades.” Persephone persists, quietly. “Please. After all this time, they deserve to know.”

Hades rubs at his temples, eyes clenching closed. He sighs, sitting up straight, and taking deep breaths. One. Two. Another sigh. “I'm afraid that I've been lying to you about the identity of your mother.”

“What do you mean?” Bianca asks, skeptical.

“She wasn't just a maid was she?” Nico asks. “She was, something else. She wasn't even from here. She was a -”

“Human, yes.” Hades nods, flinching at the small gasp the comes out of Bianca’s mouth. “I snuck her here, and I married her. She had the two of you, and shortly after, she was killed for being what she was.”

“Our mother is a _human?_ ” Bianca’s voice is shrill, high pitched, so unlike her usual voice. “How is that even _possible_? How did you even-? What in the name of the ancients- explain.”

Hades sighs again, taking another deep breath, as if to steady himself. “I was angry. My parents, your grandparents had announced my betrothal, to Persephone, something that at the time, neither of us wanted. They refused to let me back out, I became angry. I stormed off, took a walk and ended up across the border, on the human side.”

“You crossed the border?” Both of them ask at once, Bianca launching out of her chair, Nico slamming his hands on the table, both of their eyes gleaming with excitement. They bubble out inquiries of _what was it like, how did it feel, what did it look like_.

Hades chuckles. “You two are like her.” He says. “Always asking questions. It's almost infuriating.”

“Tell the rest of the story.” Bianca says excitedly, sitting back down but still noticeably fidgeting.

Hades waits for her to settle down, before he continues. “I didn't know I'd even crossed the border until I saw them. I wasn't paying attention. I didn't realize until they saw me. Soldiers, employed to watch the border. They knew what I was immediately, and they punished me severely for it. They left me for dead, in a field in the middle of an unknown territory.”

“Just for crossing the border?” Bianca hisses. “That's hardly fair.”

Hades shrugs. “I don't blame them for their wariness of me. Although the war had ended quite a time before that, it was still fresh on the minds of many, taught in schools, ingrained in the minds of every human with one lesson in mind: demons are the enemy. But your mother was different. She didn't think like the rest of them. Where someone else would have screamed and run away, leaving me to die, she calmed me, and brought me into her home. She healed me, and when she found out what I was, who I was, she didn't care. Of course she had questions, but she treated me no different.”

Nico interrupts, confused. “Okay, I understand all that. Mom was different, you have a thing for different. But how'd she end up here?”

“I was gone for too long. A member of the royal family can only be gone for so long until they have to return. Your grandparents had sent for me, sending Thanatos to come and collect me. But the humans got to him before he could get to me. They tried to use him to get to me. It worked. Your mother sided with me, and while she played a part in helping me rescue my friend and guardian, she was banished for doing so. I brought her here, and disguised her a one of the maids. Of course my mother found us out, and we were berated for it. Even more so when at my wedding to Persephone, I announced that I would be marrying your mother instead. Persephone wasn't angry of course. She understood, and she even went on a little soul search expedition of her own. Your mother and I were married, and we had you. But the wedding was public, and people began to wonder who she was, where she'd come from. Somehow we were found out, and your mother was taken away. She negotiated for us to not be harmed by her choices, and she was killed.”

Nico and Bianca blink, before Bianca scowls. “What the heck kind of ending is that? She just _dies?_ For what, for being a human? How is that even remotely fair?”

“It isn't.” Persephone says, finally speaking. “Which is why I agree with Nico's decision to protect this human and show him that we beat no ill will. In a way, he is the same as Maria.”

Hades scowls. “He is nothing like Maria.”

“Why? Because he is a vessel?” Persephone rolls her eyes. “He's human, just like her, he's stubborn like her, he was pretty determined to come here, just like her, and just like her, he has this way of speaking that seems highly disrespectful but is somehow polite at the same time in the most infuriating way.”

Hades sighs longingly. “She _was_ infuriating.”

“Then why treat this boy any different than Maria? Why not offer him refuge while he figures out what to do? He needs help, and we may be the only ones who can offer such help.”

“Please dad.” Nico says. “I know I'm making the right choice here. Let me help him. Trust me.”

Hades makes a face that says he may actually be considering the idea, which is new, and a little weird if Nico's being honest. “I suppose we could help him. But enrolling him in the academy with you? Isn't that a bit extensive?”

Percy speaks quickly, because he can tell that Nico doesn't have a rebuttal for that question. “Think of it as a sort of secondary surveillance.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” Percy begins. “The academy had a class where he could learn to use his powers- if he has any- correctly, without harming himself or anyone else. And Nico and I can keep an eye on him and help him out. If anything should go wrong, you would be quickly informed. But you wouldn't have to keep watch of a human, that would be our job. So in a way, you get the credit and we do the work, kind of.”

Hades hums thoughtfully. Nico leans in, waiting, and Percy finds himself doing the same, anticipating a quick and thorough shooting down of this preposterous idea. Instead Hades shrugs.

“I suppose it could work. That is, given that Hera will say yes. I doubt she'll be okay with having two vessels at her academy, but I think I could be persuasive enough to agree.”

Percy and Nico share a knowing look. Two vessels. Right. Only two, no less and certainly no more.

“And if you can't,” Persephone snorts. “I certainly can.”

Hades frowns. “Are you implying that I'm not persuasive?”

“I'm implying that you take to fear as persuasion instead of just talking. Intimidation won't work on Hera, so yes. That's exactly what I'm saying. You're not very persuasive dear, you're just scary.”

“Damn right.” Percy mutters under his breath, wheezing when Nico's sharp elbow jabs him in the stomach.

“So, what?” Bianca asks, arms crossed glaring at nothing and everything all at once. “We just get Headmistress Hera to accept this kid- this human kid, might I add- into the academy, we keep an eye on him, and then what? What happens next?”

None of them speak. None of them know the answer. There isn't one. Not a sentence that could make what they're doing make sense. Not a single word that could explain why they keep this up. For a second, however brief, Nico wants to say that they hope for the best. But he stops himself. Hope doesn't really exist when you're a vessel. It just makes it worse. Hoping that things will get better is what makes it even harder to handle when things only get even more horrible.

“I don't know.” Nico admits, hanging his head, because maybe this really was a dumb idea. Bringing another vessel to the academy, a human one no less, with no idea of what could happen. “It was a dumb idea, forget I said it.”

“No no no,” Percy says quickly. “I think it's a good plan. Keep an eye on him so nothing apocalyptic happens. That's a damn good plan if you ask me. Sure, it needs a little revision, but we don't go home for another day. I'm sure we can figure something out, right?”

Nico shrugs. “Whatever. Let's just be done with this for now. I'm tired. I'm going to bed.” He stands and sweeps out of the room, leaving his food on the table, cold, and his family around the table, frigid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate how short these chapters seem to me. Like I spend so much time going through and working on them but they only come out to be like 200 words. What the nuts man.


	23. Chapter Seventeen: Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As he lays in a bed that belongs to him, but isn't really his anymore, head resting on the chest of someone who's given themselves to him, and taken all he had to give, sore in all the best ways, he thinks that this is what Leo meant. This is what he wants.
> 
> This is life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, yeah. It's been a while. But hey, I made this chapter reeeeeaaly long to make up for the absence. (Hopefully this makes up for it)

Percy watches Nico sleep from his place across the room. He watches as Nico's chest rises and falls, as his breath puffs out, making his hair flutter away from his face before falling gently back. While his charge has rested, he's managed to change his clothes. He doesn't smell like something crawled on him and died anymore, which is appreciated, since he's in the company of royalty on a near constant basis.

He watches as Nico makes a noise and turns to the other side, and he sighs. Nico was right. Of course, Nico is often right about many things. He's a prince, next in line to rule a kingdom- whether he wants it or not. It's only natural that he be knowledgeable about many topics. A foolish king leads a foolish kingdom. But this is the one thing that he'd hoped Nico would be wrong about. He knew in his heart that it wouldn't go that way, that as usual, Nico would be correct. But he had hoped. Hope hadn't helped.

None of this is fair. He has enough evidence of that. Hades had said that justice didn't always come in the way you wanted it to. That fairness didn't exist here. At first, Percy had hoped that he'd be wrong. But now? Now he can see that Nico's father was right. There was nothing fair about this. 

Nico shifts in his sleep again, shaking Percy out of his thoughts to check on him. For someone who's been through so much, he seems to be rather good at sleeping things off. It's almost like he hasn't just been almost assassinated, or found out that there's a human, or that he's half human himself. He rests peacefully, like someone who has no problems in their life. 

Percy wishes he could do that. But his thoughts keep him awake until exhaustion takes him under by force. 

He dreams of tears, of a world without the prince who has quickly written his name on every part of Percy's existence. He dreams of a world without any of this, where they could just live. A world where Nico wouldn't have to be king, he could just be himself. A world without demons trapped in other demons, a world where no one hurt, and no one died. He wakes up with tears streaming down his cheeks and an almost unbearable level of sadness in his body.

Percy has never been one to fear things, at least not easily. Where others refused to venture, Percy just dove right in. It was almost as if he didn't know what the word fear meant, and that usually got him into bad situations. Now, as he sits in an empty chair, watching shift again before finally blinking awake, he feels as though he knows fear. Not even fear for himself, but for  _ Nico.  _ He supposes that he's supposed to fear for him, being his guardian and all. But he feels like this level of fear goes deeper than that. He fears not only for Nico's life, but for the lives of everyone Nico cares about. It's like he's feeling all the bottled up fear that Nico's been experiencing for ages, only instead of getting it in small doses, he gets overwhelmed by the wave that hits him. Somewhere, beneath the fear, is the slightest ray of hope. That maybe, just maybe this won't be as bad as Nico thinks. Sure, he's going to die, but maybe it won't be as horrific. (As if that's something to be meant as reassuring.) But the hope is quickly swallowed by logic. Percy's seen this happen before, watched a vessel be consumed by their demon. He knows it will hurt, that the pain will be excruciating, but not enough to kill. Not yet. He knows that the vessel's consciousness will be trapped, forced to watch the destruction, the death. He knows all of this, and that's what makes it worse. Knowing only makes it that more frightening. 

Nico rises slowly, scratching at his head blearily with a yawn. He smiles when he sees Percy, then frowns as the wall of emotions hits him. He seems to tired to speak, as he sends his voice through their Link.  _ You okay? _

_ Yes.  _ Percy answers quickly.

Nico levels him with a glare of disapproval. 

Percy relents.  _ Okay no. But I'm sure I'll be fine. _

The look doesn't go away. If anything, it gets more intense- which is both impressive and terrifying.

_ Really. I just need some time to think. Maybe read up on all this. Get a better plan than we have set up now.  _ Yes. Strategy. That's easy. That makes  _ sense.  _ He can do that. Make a plan, a better one, one that doesn't seem so impossible, one that isn't based on hope. He can do that. He's good at that.

Nico frowns deeper for a second. “Want me to come with?”

Percy wants to say yes, wants Nico to explain this all to him again, maybe with terms that don't make him want to hide Nico away forever so nothing happens to him. But logic sets in before he gets the words out, his brain saying the logical answer first. “No, I'm fine. You have that ball thing to go to for your sister anyway. You should probably get ready. I'll be back in time, don't worry.”

Nico sputters. “The ball isn't for- I could just stay with you until the last- I mean- I don't want you be alone.”

Percy stands and stretches. He taps his temple. “Won't be alone. Got you in my head. Just make some snarky comments in your head every so often, keep me company.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

Nico visibly deflates, eyes staring down at his hands while Percy moves towards the door. “Percy,” he calls, just as Percy reaches for the doorknob. “So I know that things are a little messed up right now, and you're probably overwhelmed by all of it. But before all this human, demon, mom being a different species thing, you kissed me, and I was kind of wondering if you could do it again. Before you go. Just…..a question. I guess.” He pauses for a second, shaking his head with his eyes clenched closed. “Nevermind. Stupid idea. You need to get your head right, the last thing you need is me all over you like a leech. Go a-”

Percy plants a kiss on him before he can finish his sentence, hands latching on like he's desperate. Nico- bless his little inexperienced heart- still seems to have little to no clue what he's doing, but he does his best, pressing as much as he can. He pulls away first, and rests his forehead on Percy's, staring into his eyes.

“You told me that if I ever needed to talk to you, you were always willing.”

Percy chuckles. “I did.”

“Just wanted you to know that that offer goes both ways. If you have questions, or anything. I'm here.”

Percy closes his eyes, sighing. “I know. I just-” he breathes again. “I need some time to think about all this. Wrap my head around all this, you know?”

Nico nods. “Yeah. This can be a little overwhelming. The only reason I haven't lost it is because I had suspicions. But really. If you need anything-”

Percy kisses him again, chaste and quick. “I know. I will.” He kisses Nico one more time, on his lips, another on his cheek, and one on his forehead. “See you later?”

Nico nods. “Yep. In the meantime, I'll be getting shoved into an expensive suit that will make want to throw a chair at someone.”

“Please don't throw a chair.” Percy opens the door with a nervous smile.

“No promises.” Nico smirks.

Percy laughs, shutting the door behind him. When he hears the click of the door behind him, he stops laughing, leaning his back against the door and staring at the ceiling. 

He needed a plan, and quick. He needed the calvary.

* * *

 

Percy knows that calling Leo, Jason, Annabeth and Piper probably isn't the best way to go about this, since all of them level him with a glare that basically means  _ why.  _ He doesn't get out more than two words of apology before both Leo and Annabeth are asking if Nico is okay.

“How do you know if something is wrong with Nico?” Percy asks, slightly offended that they didn't ask if  _ he _ was okay. He  _ is  _ the one who called them, not Nico. 

Annabeth rolls her eyes. “I'm friends with both of his sisters. If something’s going on between you two and they know about it, I usually do too.”

“And I just guessed.” Leo shrugs. “Seemed like the right thing to ask. You wouldn't call for no reason, and Nico seems to be reason number one for all of your vast emotion changes lately so, yeah.”

Percy huffs, mumbling about how he didn't know he was so obvious, and wow guys, thanks for telling me I was so transparent, best friends ever.

“In any case,’ Jason says, interrupting his passive aggressive thoughts. “What's wrong?”

Percy sighs, mind seeping back into the same fear and confusion addled state from earlier. “Something happened here,” he says, then rephrases. “Something that I can not not only not tell you about, but couldn't even if I tried because it still confuses the life from my body. But it involves Nico-”

“Of course.” Annabeth smirks, and again, Percy gripes about how transparent he's become in the topic of his charge.

He narrows his eyes at her for a second, trying to telepathically tell her to please stop teasing him because this is an actual issue here, and he's extremely troubled. “I'm just worried. I know I shouldn't, because Nico seems to know how to handle these kinds of things. But I'm afraid that something is going to happen and I don't want to-” he chokes. He doesn't want to what? Watch Nico become taken over and slowly destroyed? Feel him going through it? Is he more afraid of losing Nico, or ending up like Thalia because of it? All of the questions are answers and that's what scares him the most. “I'm so scared that I won't be able to help like I want to.” There. That's a good answer. That sums it up. If there's anything Percy hates, it's feeling useless, and watching someone you care for be ruined inevitably, while also feeling every emotion coursing through them, while not being able to do a damned thing about it, is a pretty good way to feel useless.

Jason and Annabeth both hum respectively. 

“Well, since you apparently can't tell us what this thing is that Nico's gotten himself into that has you so worried, I'm afraid my advice won't be so enlightening as obvious.” Annabeth starts, blunt and truthful. “I think you need to let Nico take the reins on this one. You said it yourself. He seems to know what he's dealing with better than you do, and if that's the case, then you interfering may only make things worse for him. If you're really as afraid of something happening as you say you are, then I'd suggest just providing support. Be there to comfort him when it's too much, that sort of thing. Talk it out between the two of you, and figure out how this is going to go.”

“Yeah,” Jason says. “You being worried out of your mind isn't going to help him, especially not if he can feel all those thoughts in his head, making him nervous. It's best to just calm down and talk it out with him.”

Leo speaks up. “And coming from experience, maybe try not to crowd him unless he asks for it. If he's going through what I think, he's going to want some space every now and then, unless he's abnormal and absolutely demands attention at all times, which seems to be more your comfort zone. I don't know, nevermind, just listen to the wise ones.” He shrugs, like that's all he has to offer. (Percy doesn't know what Leo means by that ‘from experience’ thing, but he has bigger problems to focus on right now, and he can always ask when they get back to the academy.) 

“Guys?” Piper asks, speaking for the first time since the call started. “It's great that you're helping sort this out and all, but if I can ask, why did you call me? Like I understand Jason and Annabeth. They're pretty smart. They were obvious choices for conversation like this. And Leo is like Nico's best friend, so he makes sense too. But I've only met the guy once, and I only hang with you guys when I'm not studying, which believe it or not, isn't often. Why did you call me?”

“You're a siren right?” Percy asks.

Piper frowns. “Yeah, so?”

“Don't sirens buy into all that lovey dovey stuff?”

The frown deepens. “Usually said lovey dovey stuff involves luring lovesick prey into a trap and killing them, but yeah I guess. I just never got into it so heavily. I think Silena is more excited about that kind of stuff anyway.”

Percy cringes. “Yeah, but with Silena comes Clarisse and I'd rather not deal with that. One stressful situation at a time please. Besides, I don't know Silena’s call code and you're the only other siren I know.”

“Well, hit me with the news, because I'm ready for a nap.”

Annabeth raises an eyebrow. “Piper, it's the middle of the day.”

Piper's face loses all emotion, while also gaining the ‘look how much i do not care’ look. “Did I stutter?”

Annabeth shrugs. “Whatever. Hit us with the news.”

Percy laughs at Piper's insistence on a nap, watching as she leaves for a second to grab a blanket, which she then proceeds to swaddle herself in before sitting back where everyone can see her. “I think me and Nico….are a thing.”

“What, like you're dating?” Leo asks, at the same time Annabeth, Jason and Piper all say, “You  _ think?” _

Percy shrugs. “Yeah, I guess. I mean, I kissed him and he didn't slap me for it. And I'm pretty sure I left a mark or two on his neck that his father noticed. And then today, he asked me to kiss him again, so yeah. I think we're a thing.”

“Okay, first of all,” Piper says. “Call you and Nico a  _ thing  _ again, and I will personally get on a train, come to where you are and slap you. Just say you're dating and get it over with.”

“We're dating.”

“Cool.” Piper says, clapping her hands together. “Secondly. Jason, next time i see you, pay up.”

“Me too.” Annabeth calls excitedly, while Jason grumbles, placing something in Leo's hand that looks suspiciously like money, while Leo grins like a madman. 

“Wait a second,” Percy says. “You placed bets on us? Piper, you said you only met him once!”

Piper raises her hands in defense. “I did! But in that one meeting, I learned that he called your eyes pretty and was pretty much ogling you when you stepped out in your training uniform. I would've been an idiot to not take that bet, and I sir, am no idiot.”

Leo laughs. “Yeah man, you two stay stuck like glue to each other.”

“And you and Jason don't?”

Leo and Jason both flush red. “Shut up!” they say at the same time, which only makes them flush a deeper red.

Percy turns on Jason. “And you! Bad enough you guys are betting on my love life, but you bet  _ against  _ me? That is the definition of harsh.”

Jason rolls his eyes. “Oh come on, Every other day, you were either complaining about how he kept blocking you, or how pretty his hair was. You two tripped over each other so much it made me seriously doubt that you would ever get together.”

“You and Leo do the same thing.”

“We do not!”

“Yes you do.” Annabeth says, Piper saying it with her, while Percy nods.

“Name one time-” Jason starts.

“The day after he was assigned to you, and you net him, you called me and spent half a day talking about how cute he was and how much he liked machines and how adorable it was when his hair caught on fire.” Piper says immediately  

Annabeth follows right after her. “Whenever we see you two at Brym, and I sit by Leo, all he does is go on and on about how strong you are and how good a guardian you are.” 

Leo makes a noise that sounds a lot like a squeak and a dying rat at the same time, his hair sparking into flames. He squawks as he pats at it, trying to put it out.

Percy watches the two of them make an attempt at avoiding contact for nearly a minute, before he gets bored. “When we get back, you two had better be dating or so help me.” He snorts when they both open their mouths at the same time, ready with a rebuttal, before he bids farewell to all of them and cuts the call.

“Have fun?” Nico asks, and Percy just about leaps from his chair. 

Nico laughs at his indignant squawk and sits beside him. He stares up at the books around them. “You should probably be a bit quieter. We are in a library. “

“Don't sneak up on me like that.” Percy defends himself. “And I thought you had to get ready for that ball.”

Nico shrugs. “Got sick of being poked at with needles. Decided I needed a break.” He rests his head on Percy's shoulder and stares out a window, closing his eyes. For a while, Percy thinks he's fallen asleep again, because he doesn't move for the longest, just breathes. Then he speaks. “You okay now?”

Percy shrugs, chuckling when the movement makes Nico grunt. “As okay as I can be right now. I'm still a little worried about this whole thing, but Annabeth and Jason just said to give you space and be supportive since you seem to know what you're doing.”

Nico snorts and sits up, facing Percy with an inquisitive look. “You think I know what I'm doing?”

“You don't?”

Nico shrugs. “I'm pretty much as clueless about this as you are.”

“Great,” Percy groans. “We're screwed. So much for Annabeth and Jason's advice being helpful.”

Nico smirks. “Yeah. When I came in here, you guys were laughing at something. What happened?”

Percy stiffens. “I um..I kind of told them that you and I might be a thing. And I found out that they placed bets on us. And then Jason bet against us, and I called him and Leo out for still not being together, and then I ended the call.” He says the whole thing in one breath, gauging Nico's reaction as he speaks. 

Nico hums. “So, we're a thing?”

Percy chuckles. “I guess. Piper said to just call it dating.”

“Piper's not here and I do what I want.”

Percy chuckles again, the sound fading into a sigh as he moves to hold Nico's palm in his own, fingers intertwining slowly, carefully.

They spend a while like that, leaning against each other, staring at nothing and speaking of nothing. For a long while, the only sound is their breath, the quiet that folds in on them calm and serene. 

Eventually though, as Nico predicted, a maid does come calling for them, gasping for breath as she urges them to ‘please get ready’. Nico rolls his eyes dramatically and Percy whines, but they give in to the dressing and prodding and fixing of cloth around them until they look impeccable. (By Hades's standards. By their own, they were impeccable hours ago, in their own comfortable clothing.) 

Seeing Nico like this makes something rise in Percy's chest, something primordial and destructive. Something that makes him want to rip the clothing off again. Percy hasn't seen Nico in anything other than normal clothes and his academy uniform, so the change is drastic, not unwelcome, but drastic. He looks like the prince he is, head high, poised and ready for anything. He takes on a different aura, one that exudes power and grace of all forms. It's almost as though he's a completely new being- though the way he rolls his eyes when one of the maids begins to fuss at his clothes again, tells a different story. He gives a small smile at the wide eyed look that Percy sends his way, and a teasing  _ like what you see _ to go along with it. 

Percy rolls his eyes and lets the maid assigned to him fuss over him for exactly three more minutes before he gives up and asks her stop, because he looks fine, and he's worried that if she doesn't quit, he's going to look worse. He lets Nico take hold of his hand and lead him out into the hall, where Persephone, Hazel, Bianca and the human- right, Will- are waiting. Bianca and Hazel are draped in elaborate dresses that, while looking beautiful on them, seem to be making them rather uncomfortable. (Bianca pulls at the lacey fabric of hers, as though it itches intensely, and Hazel just looks like she's ready to rip the dress right off, as if it offended her and she's ready to fight it.) Their guardians wear outfits similar to their own, Franks suit matching the deep red tone of Hazel's dress with a deep gray that's almost black, and Zoë’s dress the same silver of Bianca’s. Persephone is donned in a gown that makes her eyes glow, makes her flowing hair somehow look more flowing, and really just makes her look even more beautiful than usual, if possible. (She's the only one of them who seems happy with what she's wearing, or at the very least, comfortable.) Will is wearing a suit that matches the ones Percy and Nico have on themselves. It somehow manages to make his hair look even brighter, so bright that Percy almost has to look away. He too, looks rather uncomfortable in the clothing, as he pulls at his collar every five seconds and makes noises of distaste as he does so.

Persephone practically glows with joy as she grins. “Look at you two!” She exclaims, clapping her hands excitedly. “All dashing and handsome. I'll have to congratulate the maids on a job well done.”

Bianca grins too, though hers looks less gleeful and more teasing. “Never seen either one of you looking even remotely proper. It's a lot to get used to.”

Nico rolls his eyes. “I look proper all the time. I just don't wear suits and jewels. The same way you don't wear dresses adorned with gems or have your hair strung up with beads.”

Bianca rolls her eyes at that, and Hazel picks at her dress again. Behind her, Frank puts a hand on her shoulder, with an amused face, like he's getting quite the mindful of curses towards his charge’s clothing. Zoë crosses her arms then drops them to her side, before placing them on her hips, like she doesn't know what to do with them now that she doesn't have pockets.

Persephone claps. “Well,” she starts. “I suppose we shouldn't keep the guests waiting. They'll be wanting to see the newest Huntress, as well as the rest of the family. Shall we go?”

Percy shrugs, Nico does the same. Bianca and Zoë sigh in unison while Frank chuckles at Hazel and her now blatant attempts to make her dress seem more comfortable. Will makes a noise that sounds approving and disapproving at the same time, and Persephone grins. 

“Great!” she says. “Let's go.”

* * *

Nico drops onto his bed in the most dramatic filled way that he can muster, groaning and flailing his limbs out a bit as he falls. Behind him, Percy chuckles and shuts the door behind them, watching his theatrics with amusement.

“That,” Nico begins, as he rolls off his face so his voice isn't muffled by blanket. “Was by far the worst few hours of my life.”

“It wasn't that bad.” Percy smiles.

Nico pretends not to hear him. “All that time wasted just so a few diplomats can suck up to my father and a few clueless princes can go head over heels for my sisters.”

“At least the food was good.”

Nico sighs. “Yeah. That was number two of the three good things to come from tonight.”

“What's number three?”

Nico grins. “Watching Hazel put that arrogant prince on his butt when he wouldn't leave her alone.”

Percy picks at his tie until he gets it untied and looks for a place to put it that isn't the floor. “And what's number one?”

“Seeing you in clothes fancier than a shirt and pants.”

Percy laughs. “Seriously? I look that good?”

Nico makes the effort of sitting up, which if the way he leans against the wall and stares says anything, Percy appreciates. “If I wasn't having constant heart issues, I'd jump you. I probably would have jumped you during the party if we managed to be alone longer than ten minutes without some stuffy diplomat trying to schmooze his way into my good graces, since I'm apparently going to be king after my dad.”

Nico pretends he doesn't notice the predatory flash in Percy's eyes, and stands to start removing the cursed suit. He picks at the tie, feigning uselessness until Percy takes the hint and undoes it for him.

“You know, shouldn't you have more experience with fancy clothes than me?” Percy asks, voice huskier than usual. (Nico does not hum contently at that in his head, no he does not.) “Since you're a prince and all?”

Nico peels off his suit jacket and sets it on his bed. “I do. I'm just lazy sometimes.”

Percy chuckles at that, arms coming to wrap Nico in an embrace. His chin rests on Nico's shoulder, his lips right by Nico's ear, so when he breathes his next words, Nico shudders from the warm puffs of air that assault his senses. “You said you would have jumped me if we were alone for longer than ten minutes.”

Nico hums. He sees where this is going. “Yeah. I also said if I didn't have heart trouble.”

Percy hums too. “Well, I think we've been alone for ten minutes at the least, and I've always wanted to see if could test my own patience. Never know when such a skill may come in handy, right?”

Nico leans his head back, feeling Percy's lips scrape themselves up his neck, up his jaw and to his cheek. “Yeah. Good skill to have. Should probably practice that sometime.” He waits until Percy hums again, pressing into Nico's throat, ready to start teasing, before he pulls away. “But, maybe we should save patience training for later. When one of us has the safety to scream in frustration  _ without  _ a maid coming to check if everything's alright.”

Percy practically whines, and Nico has to hide a snicker at the noise. “Oh come  _ on.” _ He groans. “You are actually killing me here. How could you just tease me like that? You just hung the fruit there, waited for me to grab it, and took a bite and threw it away.” 

Nico can't hide the laugh anymore. “I'm sorry, I just wanted to see your face.”

Percy whines again, throwing himself onto Nico's bed with the same amount of dramatic flair as Nico did earlier. He covers his eyes with his arms and sighs. “So cruel. Lead me right into the arms of temptation and bliss and then shut the gates as soon as I get there.”

Nico outright cackles, sitting himself down on the edge of the bed- which Percy has taken up- and smiling down at his guardian. “I was only teasing. Just wanted to see how you'd react.”

Percy sits up. “Well, I reacted all right.”

Nico will swear later, that he doesn't notice the obvious tent in his guardian’s pants. (He does, but dammit, he'll deny it until it kills him...bad choice of words.)

Nico thinks for a moment, trying to decide how to go about this. He can still see the black in Percy's pupils, the green slowly disappearing in the evidence of slowly fading lust, can still feel the tendrils of unspoken thoughts in his mind. The webs of arousal and passion cling to him relentlessly, making him restless until the anticipation wins out. He wants this, wants it so much it almost hurts, and he can feel the same intensity in Percy's own mind.

_ Well,  _ he says to himself.  _ You wanted to live before you die. Guess this counts as living.  _

Nico feels the confusion seeping into him as he crawls his way up the bed, places himself in Percy's lap and just, sits there.

Percy's mind goes deliciously blank, and Nico shakes with laughter at the way his eyes bulge. “Umm.” he says, and Nico smiles. 

“I reacted too.” he says, placing his hands behind Percy's neck.

Percy blinks. “Umm.”

Nico rolls his eyes and waves a hand in front of Percy's face. “Hell to Percy? Anybody in there?”

“Umm.” Is Percy's intelligent reply, before he snaps out of his daze and shudders. “Sorry. Brain fart. You kind of surprised me there. Wasn't expecting you to just-” he gestures to their current predicament. 

Nico shrugs. “Decided that if I'm going to follow my friend's life advice, I may as well follow every aspect of it. This seems like a step in the right direction, however rushed it may be to anyone else.”

Percy sighs, hands settling on Nico's hips, pulling him closer. “What about-?” He glances down at Nico's chest, where the only problem left lies. Death.

“Slow.” Nico says. “We go slow like you said, and maybe hope for the best?” he smiles nervously, and Percy laughs, hiding his face in the crook of Nico's neck.

“We're hopeless.” he mumbles, shaking his head. “Hopelessly in love of course, but still hopeless.”

“I kind of like being hopeless.” Nico laughs with him. “Being hopeless led me to you. Now we can be hopeless together.” 

Percy picks his head up at that, and grins. “Yeah.” And with that, he turns them over.

Later, Nico will stare at his reflection before he lets Persephone hug him when they leave. He'll look at himself, and the marks on his neck, the lips that seem pinker, plumper than usual. He'll feel the marks forming beneath his clothes, the ones on each of his seals, his tailbone, his heart. He'll feel them spreading, like the love that seeps through him every time he so much as moves. He'll feel skin that feels rejuvenated, less pale, as if the brilliance of Percy smiling down at him, made him this way. Even later, when they're alone again- and have gotten Will settled in in the room a few doors down from them, and gotten all their things unpacked, and have a moment to just think- he'll unfurl his wings from their seal and feel the hands that coursed through their feathers. Feel the lips that pressed to each muscle they could catch, the breath that he breathed in, too focused on being close that all that mattered was staying close. Death will berate him for it. Try to make him feel regret for doing what he did, and he'll smile. This, he'll say to himself. This is life. This is living and loving and being loved and breathing and just...living.

This is all he ever wanted, almost more in a way. All he wanted was to be happy. He never imagined that his happiness could be found in anyone other than himself. And yet, as he lays in a bed that belongs to him, but isn't really his anymore, head resting on the chest of someone who's given themselves to him, and taken all he had to give, sore in all the best ways, he thinks that this is what Leo meant. This is what he wants.

This is life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me after writing this chapter: *looks around to make sure no one's looking* *prays a lil bit cuz this is about as close to sexual writing as I've ever gotten* *goes to write next chapter* Tell me how you guys felt about this chapter. Too long, too short- please don't be too short cuz this was originally gonna be two chapters. Does it feel rushed to you? (It does to me, but then again, I'm writing it so my perspective is skewed here.) Feedback is loved and appreciated and if possible, taken into account for the next chapter.   
> Til then, stay tuned for the next chapter- whenever I manage to stop overthinking everything about it and just write it. Love you guys, and thanks for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, so this is just one part of a few more parts- I have no idea how many parts there are so I'm sorry. But just know that this is just part one.


End file.
